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CHARLES  R.  SANDERS,  JR. 
Americana-Southeastern  States 
123    Montgomery    Street 
Raleigh,  North  Carolina 


This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated  below 
and  is  subject  to  a  fine  of  •IBPi^ENTS  a 
day  thereafter. 


l!lllll|l«ll|iUlllllllliill|iill!lillia«'"3!lliiilil^^^^^^^^^^^ 


■^^^^^^^^^^^ 


THE   POLAE   WORLD: 


A  POPULAR  DESCRIPTION  OP 


MAN   AND  NATURE 


ARCTIC  AND  ANTARCTIC  REGIONS  OF  THE  GLOBE. 


By   Dr.  G.  HARTWIG, 

.VUTUOR   OF 

'THE  SEA  AND  ITS  LIVING  WONDERS,"   "THE  HARMONIES  OF  NATURE,' 
AND    "THE  TROPICAL  WORLD." 


WITH  ADDITIOML  CHAPTERS  AND  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  SIXTY 
THREE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


N  E  W     YORK: 
HARPER    &     BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN    SQUARE. 
1869. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Othce  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New  York. 


PREFACE 


'T^HE  object  of  the  following  pages  is  to  describe  the  Polar  World  in  its 
principal  natural  features,  to  point  out  the  influence  of  its  long  winter- 
night  and  fleeting  summer  on  the  development  of  vegetable  and  animal  ex- 
istence, and  finall|(^to  picture  man  waging  the  battle  of  life  against  the  dread- 
ful climate  of  the  high  latitudes  of  our  globe  either  as  the  inhabitant  of 
their  gloomy  solitudes,  or  as  the  bold  investigator  of  their  mysteries. 

The  table  of  contents  shows  the  great  variety  of  interesting  subjects  em- 
braced within  a  comparatively  narrow  compass ;  and  as  my  constant  aim  has 
been  to  convey  solid  instruction  under  an  entertaining  form,  I  venture  to 
hope  that  the  public  will  grant  this  new  work  the  favorable  reception  given 
to  my  previous  writings. 

G.  Hartwig. 


NOTE  BY  THE  AMERICAN  EDITOR. 

"T  HAVE  made  no  alterations  in  the  text  of  Dr.  Hartwig's  book  beyond 
-^  changing  the  orthography  of  a  few  geographical  and  ethnological  terms 
so  that  they  shall  conform  to  the  mode  of  representation  usual  in  our  maps 
and  books  of  travel.  For  example,  I  substitute  Mud  ZemUa  for  "  Novaya 
Zemla,"  and  Samdiedes  for  "Samojedes."  Here  and  there  throughout  the 
work  I  have  added  a  sentence  or  a  paragraph.  '  The  two  chapters  on 
"  Alaska  "  and  "  The  Innuits  "  have  been  supplied  by  me ;  and  for  them 
Dr.  Hartwig  is  in  no  way  responsible. 

The  Illustrations  have  been  wholly  selected  and  arranged  by  me.  I  found 
at  my  disposal  an  immense  number  of  illustrations  which  seemed  to  me  bet- 
ter to  elucidate  the  text  than  those  introduced  by  Dr.  Hartwig.  In  the  List 
of  Illustrations  the  names  of  the  authors  to  whom  I  am  indebted  are  sup- 


vi  PREFACE. 

plied.     The  following  gives  the  names  of  the  authors,  and  the  titles  of 
the  works  from  which  the  illustrations  have  been  taken : 

Atkinson,  Thojeas  Witla:\i  :    "Travels  in  the  Regions  of  the  Upper  Amoor;"  and  "Oriental 

and  Western  Siberia. " 
Browne,  J.  Ross  :   "  The  Land  of  Thor." 
DuFFERiN,  Lord  :   "Letters  from  High  Latitndes." 

Hall,  Charles  Francis  :   "Arctic  Researches,  and  Life  among  the  Esquimaux."' 
Harper's  Magazine  :   The  Illustrations  credited  to  this  periodical  have  been  furnished  during 

many  years  by  more  than  a  score  of  travellers  and  voyagers.     They  are  in  every  case  authentic. 
Lamont,  James  :   "  Seasons  with  the  Sea-Horses ;  or,  Sporting  Adventui-es  in  the  Northern  Seas." 
Milton,  Viscount  :   "North-west  Passage  by  Land." 
WiiYMPER,  Frederick  :   "Alaska,  and  British  America." 
Wood,  Rev.  J.  G.  :   "Natm-al  History- ;"  and  "Homes  without  Hands." 

I  trust  that  I  have  throughout  wrought  in  the  spirit  of  the  author ;  and 
that  my  labors  will  enhance  the  value  of  his  admirable  b^k. 

A.  IT.  G. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  ARCTIC   LANDS. 

The  barren  Grounds  or  Tundri. — Abundance  of  animal  Life  on  the  Tundri  in  Summer. — Their  Silence 
and  Desolation  in  Winter. — Protection  afforded  to  Vegetation  by  the  Snow* — Flower-growth  in 
the  highest  Latitudes. — Character  of  Tundra  Vegetation. — Southern  Boundar_v-line  of  the  barien 
Grounds. — Their  Extent. — The  forest  Zone. — Arctic  Trees. — Slowness  of  their  Growth. — Monotony 
of  the  Northern  Forests. — Mosquitoes. — The  various  Causes  which  determine  the  Severity  of  an 
Arctic  Climate. — Insular  and  Continental  Position. — Currents. — Winds. — Extremes  of  Cold  observed 
bv  Sir  E.  Belcher  and  Dr.  Kane. — How  is  Man  able  to  support  the  Rigors  of  an  Arctic  Winter? — 
Proofs  of  a  milder  Climate  having  once  reigned  in  the  Arctic  Regions. — Its  Cause  according  to 
Dr.  Oswald  Heer.— Peculiar  Beauties  of  the  Arctic  Regions. — Sunset.^Long  lunar  Nights.— The 
Aurora Page  17 

CHAPTER  IL 

ARCTIC  LAND   QUADRUPEDS   AND   BIRDS. 

The  Reindeer. — Structure  of  its  Foot. — Clattei-ing  Noise  when  walking. — Antlers. — Extraordinary 
olfactory  Powers. — The  Icelandic  Moss. — Present  and  Former  Range  of  the  Rgindeer. — Its  invalu- 
able Qualities  as  an  Arctic  domestic  Animal. — Revolts  against  Oppression. — Enemies  of  the  Rein- 
deer.—The  Wolf.— The  Gluiton  or  Wolverine.— Gad-flies.— The  Elk  or  Moose-deer. — The  Musk- 
ox. — The  Wild  Sheep  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.— The  Siberian  Argali. — The  Arctic  Fox.— Its  Bur- 
rows.— The  Lemmings. — Their  Migrations  and  Enemies. — Arctic  Anatida?. — The  Snou-bnnting. — 
The  Lapland  Bunting.— The  Sea-eagle.— Drowned  by  a  Dolphin • , .     .84 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE     ARCTIC    SEAS. 

Dangers  peculiar  to  the  Arctic  Sea. — Ice-fields. — Hummocks. — Collision  of  Ice-fields. — Icebergs. — Their 
Origin. — Their  Size. — The  Glaciers  which  give  them  Birth.— Their  Beauty. — Sometimes  useful 
Auxiliaries  to  the  Mariner. — Dangers  of  anchoring  to  a  Berg. — A  crumbling  Berg. — The  Ice-blink. 
—Fogs. — Transparency  of  the  Atmosphere. — Phenomena  of  Reflection  ami  Refraction. — Causes 
which  prevent  the  Accumulation  of  Polar  Ice. — Tides.— Currents. — Ice  a  bad  Conductor  of  Heat.— 
Wise  Provisions  of  Nature ■!"> 

CHAPTER  IV. 

ARCTIC  MARINE   ANIMALS. 

Populousness  of  the  Arctic  Seas. —The  Greenland  Whale. —The  Fin  Whales.—  The  Narwhal.— 
The  Beluga,  or  White  Dolphin.— The  Black  Dolphin.— His  wholesale  Massacre  on  the  Facroe  Isl- 
ands.—The  Ore,  or  Grampus.— The  Seals.— The  Walrus.— Its  acute  Smell.— History  of  a  young 
Walrus.— Parental  Affection.- The  Polar  Bear.— His  Sagacity.— Hibernation  of  the  She-bear.— 
Sea-birds 59 

CHAPTER  V. 

ICELAND. 

Volcanic  Origin  of  the  Island.— The  Klofa  Ji3kul.— Lava-streams.— The  Burning  Mountains  of  Krisn- 
vik.— The  Mud-caldrons  of  Reykjahlid.— The  Tungo-hver  at  Reykholt— The  Great  Geysi''-— Tlie 


^iii  CONTENTS. 

Strokkr.— Crystal  Pools.— The  Almannagja.— The  Surts-hellir.— Beautiful  Ice-cave.— The  Gotha 
Foss.— The  Detti  Foss.— Climate.— Vegetation.— Cattle.— Barbarous  Mode  of  Sheep-sheering.— 
Reindeer.— Polar  Bears.— Birds.— The  Eider-duck.— Videy.—Vigr.— The  Wild  Swan. — The  Ra- 
ven.—The  Jerfalcon.— The  Giant  auk,  or  Geirfugl.— Fish.— Fishing  Season.— The  Wliite  Shark.— 
Mineral  Kingdom.— Sulphur.— Peat.— Drift-wood " Page  68 

CHAPTER  VI. 

HISTORY  OF  ICELAND. 

Discovery  of  the  Island  by  Naddodr  in  861.— Gardar.— Floki  of  the  Ravens.— Ingolfr  and  Leif.— Ulfliot 
the  Lawgiver.— The  Althing.— Thingvalla.— Introduction  of  Christianity  into  the  Island.— Fred- 
erick the  Saxon  and  Thorwold  the  Traveller.— Thangbrand.— Golden  Age  of  Icelandic  Literature. 
— Snorri  Sturleson. — The  Island  submits  to  Ilakon,  King  of  Norway,  in  1254.— Long  Series  of  Ca- 
lamities.—Great  Eruption  of  the  Skapta  Jokul  in  1783.— Commercial  Monopoly.— Better  Times  in 
Prospect 89 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    ICELANDERS. 

Skalholt.— Reykjavik.— The  Fair.— The  Peasant  and  the  Merchant.— A  Clergyman  in  his  Cups.— Hay- 
making.— The  Icelander's  Hut.— Churches.— Poverty  of  the  Clergy.— Jon  Thorlaksen.— The  Semi- 
nary of  Reykjavik.— Beneficial  Influence  of  the  Clergy.— Home  Education.— The  Icelander's  Winter's 
Evening.— Taste  for  Literature.— The  Language.— The  Public  Library  at  Reykjavik.— The  Icelandic 
Literary  Society.— Icelandic  Newspapers.— Longevity.— Leprosy. — Travelling  in  Iceland.— Fording 
the  Rivers.— Crossing  of  the  Skeidara  by  Mr.  Holland.— A  Night's  Bivouac 98 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  WESTMAN  ISLANDS. 

The  W^estmans.— Their  extreme  Difficulty  of  Access.— How  they  became  peopled.— Heimaey. — 
Kaufstathir  and  Ofanleyte.— Sheep-hoisting.— Egg-gathering.— Dreadful  Mortality  among  the 
Children. —The  pinklofi.— Gentleman  John.— The  Algerine  Pirates.— Dreadful  Sufferings  of  the 

Islanders .* '. 114 

♦ 
CHAPTER  IX. 

C  FROM  DRONTHEIM  TO  THE  NORTH  CAPE. 

Mild  Climate  of  the  Norwegian  Coast.— Its  Causes.— The  Norwegian  Peasant.— Norwegian  Constitution.— 
Romantic  coast  Scenery.— Drontheim.—Greiffenfeld  Holme  and  Viire.  —The  Sea-eagle.— The  Herring- 
fisheries.— The  Lofoten  Islands.— The  Cod-fisheries.— W' retched  Condition  of  the  Fishermen.— Tromso. 
— Altenfiord.— The  Copper  Mines.— Hammerfest  the  most  northern  Town  ip  the  World.— The  North 
Cape : 120 

CPIAPTER  X. 

SPITZBERGEN— BEAR  ISLAND— .TAN  MEYEN. 

The  west  Coast  of  Spitzbergen.— Ascension  of  a  Mountain  by  Dr.  Scoresby.— His  Excursion  along  tiie 
Coast.— A  stranded  Whale.— Magdalena  Bay.— Multitudes  of  Sea-birds.— Animal  Life.— Midnight 
Silence.— Glaciers.— A  dangerous  Neighborhood.— Interior  Plateau.— Flora  of  Spitzbergen. —Its 
Similarity  with  that  of  the  Alps  above  the  Snow-line.— Reindeer.— The  hyperborean  Ptarmigan.— 
Fishes.— Coal.— Drift-wood.— Discovery  of  Spitzbergen  by  Barentz,  Heemskerk,  and  Ry p.— Brilliant 
Period  of  the  Whale-fishery.— Coffins.— Eight  English  Sailors  winter  in  Spitzbergen,  1630.— Melan- 
choly Death  of  some  Dutch  Volunteers.— Russian  Hunters.— Their  Mode  of  wintering  in  Spitzber- 
gen.—Scharostin.— Walrus-ships  from  Hammerfest  and  Tromso.— Bear  or  Cherie  Island.— Bennet. 
—Enormous  Slaughter  of  Walruses.— Mildness  of  itsClimate.— Mount  Misery.— Adventurous  Boat- 
voyage  of  some  Norwegian  Sailors.— Jan  Meyen. — Beerenberg 131 

CHAPTER  XI. 

NOVA    ZEMBLA. 

The  Sea  of  Kara. — Loschkin. — Rosmysslow.— Ltitke.- Krotow. — Pachtussow. — Sails  along  the  east- 
ern Coast  of  the  Southern  Island  to  Matoschkin  Schar.— His  second  Voyage  and  Death. — Meteoro- 


CONTENTS.  ix 

logical  Observations  of  Ziwolka. — The  cold  Summer  of  Nova  Zembla. — VonBaer's  scientific  Voyage 
to  Nova  Zembla. — His  Adventures  in  Matoschkin  Schar. — Storm  in  Kostin  Schar. — Sea  Batii  and 
votive  Cross. — Botanical  Observations. — A  natural  Garden. — Solitude  and  Silence. — A  Bird  Ba- 
zar.— Hunting  Expeditions  of  the  Russians  to  Nova  Zembla Page  147 

CHAPTER-  XII. 

THE   LAPPS. 

Tlieir  ancient  History  and  Conversion  to  Christianity. — Self-denial  and  Poverty  of  the  Lapland  Clergy. 
— Their,  singular  Mode  of  Preaching. — Gross  Superstition  of  the  Lapps. — The  Evil  Spirit  of  the 
Woods. — The  Lapland  Witches.— Physical  Constitution  of  the  Lapps. — Their  Dress. — The  FjalUap- 
pars. — Their  Dwellings. —  Store-houses. — Reindeer  Pens. —  Milking  the  Reindeer.— Migration.— 
The  Lapland  Dog. — Skiders,  or  Skates. — The  Sledge,  or  Pulka.— Natural  Beauties  of  Lapland.— 
Attachment  of  the  Lapps  to  their  Country.— Bear-hunting.— Wolf-hunting.— Mode  of  Living  of  the 
wealthy  Lapps.— How  they  kill  the  Reindeer.— Visiting  the  Fair.— Manmion  Worship.— Treasure- 
hiding. — "  Tabak,  or  Braende."— Affectionate  Disposition  of  the  Lapps.— Tlie  Skogslapp.— The 
Fisherlapp 156 

CHAPTER  XIIL 

MATTHIAS   ALEXANDER    CASTEEN. 

His  Birthplace  and  first  Studies.— Journey  in  Lapland,  1838.— The  Iwalojoki.— The  Lake  of  Enara.— 
The  Pastor  of  Utzjoki. — From  Rowaniemi  to  Kemi. — Second  Voyage,  1841-44. — Storm  on  the 
White  Sea. — Return  to  Archangel. — The  Tundras  of  the  European  Samoiedes. — Mesen. — Universal 

•  Drunkenness.— Sledge  Journey  to  Pustosersk. — A  Samoiede  Teacher. — Tundra  Storms.— Abandon- 
ed and  alone  in  the  Wilderness.— Pustosersk. — Our  Traveller's  Persecutions  at  Ustsylmsk  and  Ish- 
emsk. — The  Uusa.— Crossing  the  Ural.— Obdorsk.— Second  Siberian  Journey,  1845-48.— Overflow- 
ing of  the  Obi.— Surgut. — Krasnojarsk. — Agreeable  Surprise.— Turuchansk.—Voj-age  down  the 
Jenissei.— Castren's  Study  at  Plachina. — From  Dudinka  to  Tolstoi  Noss.— Frozen  Feet.— Returii 
Voyage  to  the  South.— Frozen  fast  on  the  Jenissei. — Wonderful  Preservation.— Journey  across  the 
Chinese  Frontiers,  and  to  Transbaikalia.— Return  to  Finland.— Professorship  at  Ilelsingfors.— Death 
of  Castren,  1855 168 

*     CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE     SAMOIEDES. 

Their  Barbarism. — Nuni,  or  Jilibeambaertje. — Shamanism. — Samoiede  Idols. — Sjadtci. — Hahe. — The  Ta- 
debtsios,  or  Spirits. — The  Tadibes,  or  Sorcerers. — Their  Dress. — Their  Invocations. — Their  conjuring 
Tricks. — Reverence  paid  to  the  Dead. — A  Samoiede  Oath. — Appearance  of  the  Samoiedes. — Their 
Dress. — A  Samoiede  Belle. — Character  of  the  Samoiedes. — Their  decreasing  Numbers.— Traditions  of 
ancient  Heroes 1"9 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THEOSTIAKS. 

WTiat  is  the  Obi.? — Inundations. — An  Ostiak  summer  Yourt.— Povert}'-  of  the  Ostiak  Fishermen.— A 
winter  Yourt. — Attachment  of  the  Ostiaks  to  their  ancient  Customs.— An  Ostiak  Prince. — Archeiy. 
— Appearance  and  Character  of  the  Ostiaks.— The  Fair  of  Obdorsk 185 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

CONQUEST   OF   SIBERIA  BY  THE   EDSSIANS— THEIR  VOYAGES  OF  DISCOVERY  ALONG  THE   SHORES  OF  THE 

POLAR  SEA. 

Ivan  the  Terrible.— StrogonofF.—Yermak,  the  Robber  and  Conqueror.— His  Expeditions  to  Siberia.— 
Battle  of  Tobolsk.— Yermak's  Death.— Progress  of  the  Russians  to  Ochotsk.— Semen  Deshnew.— 
Condition  of  the  Siberian  Natives  under  the  Russian  Yoke. — Voyages  of  Disccn'ery  in  the  Reign  of 
the  Empress  Anna. — Prontschischtschew. — Chariton  and  Demetrius  Laptew. — An  Arctic  Heroine. 
— Schalaurow. — Discoveries  in  the  Sea  of  Bering  and  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. — The  Liichow  Islands. — 
Fossil  Ivory.— New  Siberia.— The  wooden  Mountains.— The  past  Ages  of  Siberia 191 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

SIBERIA— FUR-TRADE  AND  GOLD-DIGGfiSGS. 

Siberia.— Its  imiiieiise  Extent  and  Capabilities.— The  Exiles.— Mentschikoflf.-Dolgorouky.— Munich.— 
The  Criminals.— The  free  Siberian  Peasant.— Extremes  of  Heat  and  Cold.— Fur-bearint,^  Animals.— 
The  Sable.— The  Ermine.— The  Siberian  Weasel.— The  Sea-otter.— The  black  Fox.— The  Lynx.— 
The  Squirrel.— The  varying  Hare.— The  Suslik.— Importance  of  the  Fur-trade  for  the  Northern 
Provinces  of  the  Russian  Empire.— The  Gold-diggings  of  Eastern  Siberia.— The  Taiga.— Expenses 
and  Difficulties  of  searching  Expeditions.— Costs  of  Produce,  and  enormous  Profits  of  successful 
Speculators.— Their  senseless  Extravagance.— First  Discovery  of  Gold  in  the  Ural  Mountains.— 
Jakowlew  and  Demidow. — Nishne-Tagilsk Pa„g  904 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

middendorff's  adventures  in  taimurland. 

For  what  Purpose  was  Middendorffs  Voyage  to  Taimurland  undertaken?— Difficulties  and  Obstacles.— 

Expedition  down  the  Taimur  River  to  the  Polar  Sea.— Storm  on  Taimur  Lake.— Loss  of  the  Boat.— 

Jliddendorff  ill  and  ulone  in  75°  N.  Lat.— Saved  by  a  grateful  Samoiede.— Climate  and  Vegetation  of 

Taimurland 220 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

the  jakuts. 
Their  energetic  Nationality.— Their  Descent.— Their  gloomy  Character.— Summer  and  Winter  Dwell- 
ings.—The  Jakut  Horse.— Incredible  Powers  of  Endurance  of  the  Jakuts.— Tlieir  Sharpness  of  Vis- 
ion.—Surprising  local  Memory.— Their  manual  Dexterity.— Leather,  Poniards,  Carpets. —Jakut 
Gluttons. — Superstitious  Fear  of  the  Mountain-spirit  Ljeschei.— Offerings  of  Horse-hair.— Improvised 
Songs.— The  River  Jakut 228 

CHAPTER  XX. 

wrangell. 
His  distinguished  Services  as  an  Arctic  Explorer. — From  Petersburg  to  Jakutsk  in  1820. — Trade  of 
Jakutsk.— From  Jakutsk  to  Nishne-Kolymsk.— The  Badarlny.— Dreadful  Climate  of  Nishne-Ko- 
lymsk.—SummerPlagues.— Vegetation.— Animal  Life. —Reindeer-hunting.— Famine.— Inundations. 
—The  Siberian  Dog.— First  Journeys  over  the  Ice  of  the  Polar  Sea,  and  Ex  pi  oration -of  the  Coast 
beyond  Cape  Shelagskoi  in  1821.— Dreadful  Dangers  and  Hardships.— Matiuschkin's  Sledge-journey 
over  the  Polar  Sea  in  1822.— Last  Adventures  on  the  Polar  Sea. — A  Run  for  Life.— Return  to  St. 
Petersburg 233 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE    TUNGUSI. 

Their  Relationship  to  the  Mantchou.  —  Dreadful  Condition  of  the  outcast  Nomads.  —  Character  of 
the  Tungusi. — Their  Outfit  for  the  Chase. — Bear-hunting. — Dwellings. — Diet. — A  Night's  Halt  with 
Tungusi  in  the  Forest. — Ochotsk 244 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

GEORGE   WILLIAM    STELLER. 

His  Birth. — Enters  the  Russian  Service.— Scientific  Journey  to  Kamchatka.— Accompanies  Bering  on  his 
second  Voyage  of  Discovery.— Lands  on  the  Island  of  Kaiak.— Shameful  Conduct  of  Bering.— Ship- 
wreck on  Bering  Island.— Bering's  Death.— Return  to  Kamchatka.— Loss  of  Property.— Persecutions 
of  the  Siberian  Authorities.— Frozen  to  Death  at  Tjumen '. 248 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

KAMCHATKA. 

Climate.— Fertility.— Luxuriant  Vegetation. —Fish.— Sea-birds.— Kamchatkan  Bird-catchers.— The  Bay 
of  Avatscha.— Petropaylosk.— The  Kamchatkans.— Their  phj'sical  and  moral  Qualities.— The  Fri- 
tillaria  Sarrana.— The  Muchamor. — Bears.— Dogs 254 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  TCHUKTCHI. 

The  Land  of  the  Tchuktchi.— Their  independent  Spirit  and  eommei-cial  Entei-prise.— Perpetual  Migra- 
tions.— The  Fair  of  Ostrownoje.  —  Visit  in  a  Tchuktch  Polog.  — Races.  — Tchuktch  Bayaderes.— 
The  Tennygk,  or  Reindeer  Tchuktchi.  —  The  Onkilon,  or  Sedentary  Tchuktchi.  —  Their  Mode  of 
Life Page  262 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

BERING  SEA — THE  RUSSIAN  FUR  COMPANY — ^THE  ALEUTS. 

BeringSea.— Unalaska.— The  Pribilow  Islands.— St.  Matthew.— St.  Laurence.— Bering's  Straits.— The 
Russian  Fur  Company.— The  Aleuts. — Their  Character. — Their  Skill  and  Intrepidity  in  hunting  the 
Sea-otter,— The  Sea-bear.— Whale-chasing.— Walrus-slaughter.— The  Sea-lion 268 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

ALASKA. 

Purchase  of  Alaska  by  the  United  States. — The  Russian  American  Telegraph  Scheme.— Whymper's 
Trip  up  the  Yukon.— Dogs. — The  Start.— Extempore  Water-filter.— Snow-shoes.— The  Frozen  Yu- 
kon.—Under-ground  Houses. — Life  at  Nulato.— Cold  Weather.— Auroras.— Approach  of  Summer. 
— Breaking-up  of  the  Ice. — Fort  Yukon. — Furs.— Descent  of  the  Yukon.— Value  of  Goods.— Arctic 
and  Tropical  Life. — Moose-hunting.— Deer-corrals.— Lip  Ornaments.— Canoes.— Four-post  Coffin. 
—The  Kenaian  Jndians.— The  Aleuts.— Value  of  Alaska 277 

CHAPTER  XXVn. 

THE  ESQUIMAUX. 

Their  wide  Extension. —  Climate  of  the  Regions  they  inhabit.— Their  physical  Appearance.— Their 
Dress.— Snow  Huts.— The  Kayak,  or  the  Baidar.— Hunting  Apparatus  and  Weapons.— Enmity  be- 
tween the  Esquimaux  and  the  Red  Indian. — The  "Bloody  Falls."— Chase  of  the  Reindeer.— Bird- 
catching. — Whale-hunting. — Various  Stratagems  employed  to  catch  the  Seal. — The  "  Keep-kuttuk." 
— Bear-hunting. —  Walrus-hunting. —  Awaklok  and  Myouk.— The  Esquimaux  Dog.— Games  and 
Sports.— Angekoks.—  Moral  Character.—  Self-reliance.— Intelligence.— Iligliuk. —  Commercial  Ea- 
gerness of  the  Esquimaux.— Their  Voracity.— Seasons  of  Distress 290 

CHAPTER  XXVin. 

THE   FUR-TRADE  OF  THE   HUDSON'S  BAY  TERRITORIES. 

The  Coureur  des  Bois. — The  Voj'ageur. — The  Birch-bark  Canoe. — The  Canadian  Fur-trade  in  the  last 
'  Century. — The  Hudson's  Bay  Company.^Bloody  Feuds  between  the  North-west  Company  of  Can- 
ada and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. — Their  Amalgamation  into  a  new  Company  in  1821. — Recon- 
struction of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  1863. — Forts  or  Houses. — The  Attiha-wmeg. — Influence 
of  the  Company  on  its  savage  Dependents. — The  Black  Bear,  or  Baribal. — The  Brown  Bear. — The 
Grizzly  Bear. — The  Raccoon. — The  American  Glutton. — The  Pine  Marten. — The  Pekan,  or 
Wood-shock.— The  Chinga.  — The  Mink.  —  The  Canadian  Fish-otter.  —  The  Crossed  Fox.— The  ^ 
Black  or  Silvery  Fox. — The  Canadian  Lynx,  or  Pishu.  —The  Ice-hare. — The  Beaver. — The 
Musquash 304 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE   CREE   INDIANS,   OR  EYTHINYUWUK. 

The  various  Tribes  of  the  Crees.— Their  Conquests  and  subsequent  Defeat.— Their  Wars  with  the  Black- 
feet.— Their  Character.— Tattooing.— Their  Dress.— Fondness  for  their  Children.— The  Cree  Cradle.— 
Vapor  Baths.— Games.— Their  religious  Ideas.— The  Cree  Tartarus  and  Elysium 319 

CHAPTER  XXX, 

THE     TINNE     INDIANS. 

The  various  Tribes  of  the  Tinne  Indians.— The  Dog-ribs.- Clothing.— The  Hare  Indians.— Degraded 
State  of  the  Women.— Practical  Socialists.— Character.— Cruelty  to  the  Aged  and  Infirm 327 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE  LOUCHEUX,  OR   KUTCHIN   INDIANS. 

The  Countries  thej'  inhabit.— Their  Appearance  and  Dress.— Their  Love  of  Finery.— Condition  of  the 
Women.— Strange  Customs.— Character. — Feuds  with  the  Esquimaux. — Their  suspicious  and  timo- 
rous Lives. — Pounds  for  catching  Reindeer. — Their  Lodges Page  331 

CHAPTER  XXXn. 

ARCTIC   VOYAGES  OF  DISCOVERY,  FROM  THE  CABOTS   TO   BAFFIN. 

First  Scandinavian  Discoverer  of  America.— The  Cabots.—Willoughby  and  Chancellor  (1553-1554). — 
Stephen  Burrough  (1556). — Frobisher  (1576-1578). — Davis  (1585-1587). — Barentz,  Cornelis,  and 
Brant  (1594). — Wintering  of  the  Dutch  Navigators  in  Nova  Zembla  (1596-1597). — John  Knight 
(1606).— Murdered  by  the  Esfluimaux.— Henry  Hudson  (1607-1609).— Baffin  (161G) 335 

CHAPTER  XXXIIL 

ARCTIC  VOYAGES  OF   DISCOVERY',  FROM   BAFFIN  TO   m'cLINTOCK. 

Buchan  and  Franklin.— Ross  and  Parry  (1818).— Discovery  of  Melville  Island.— Winter  Harbor  (1819- 
1820).— Franklin's  first  land  Journey.— Dreadful  Sufferings.— Parry's  second  Voyage  (1821-1823). 

Iligliuk. —  Lyon  (1824). —  Parry's  third  Voyage  (1824). — Franklin's  second  land  Journey  to  the 

Shores  of  the  Polar  Sea. — Beechey. — PaiTv's  sledge  Journey  towards  the  Pole. — Sir  John  Ross's 
second  Journey.— Five  Years  in  the  Arctic  Ocean.— Back's  Discovery  of  Great  Fish  River.— Dease 
and  Simpson  (1837-1839).— Franklin  and  Crozier's  last  Voyage  (1845).— Searching  Expeditions.— 
Richardson  and  Rae.— Sir  James  Ross.— Austin.— Penny.— De  Haven.— Franklin's  first  Winter- 
quarters  discovered  by  Ommaney.— Kennedy  and  Bellot.— Inglefield.— Sir  E.  Belcher.— Kellett.— 
M'Clure's  Discovery  of  the  North-west  Passage.— Collinson.— Bellot 's  Death.— Dr.  Rae  learns  tht 
Death  of  the  Crews  of  the  "  Erebus"  and  "  Terror."— Sir  Leopold  M'Clintock 344 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

KANE  AND    HAYES. 

Kane  sails  up  Smith's  Sound  in  the  "Advance  "  (185.3).— Winters  in  Rensselaer  Bay.— Sledge  Journey 
along  the  Coast  of  Greenland. —The  Three-brother  Turrets.— Tennyson's  IMonument.— The  Great 
Humboldt  Glacier.— Dr.  Hayes  crosses  Kennedy  Channel.  —  Morton's  Discovery  of  Washington 
Land.— Mount  Parry.— Kane  resolves  upon  a  second  Wintering  in  Rensselaer  Bay.— Departure  and 
Return  of  Part  of  the  Crew.— Sufferings  of  the  Winter.— The  Ship  abandoned.— Boat  Journey  to 
Upernavik.— Kane's  Death  in  the  Havana  (1857).— Dr.  Hayes's  Voyage  in  I860.— He  winters  at 

Port  Foulke. Crosses  Kennedy  Channel. — Reaches  Cape  Union,  the  most  northern  known  Land 

upon  the  Globe. — Koldewey.— Plans  for  future  Voyages  to  the  North  Pole 365 

'  CHAPTER  XXXV. 

NEWFOUNDLAND. 

Its  desolate  Aspect.— Forests.— Marshes.— Barrens.— Ponds.— Fur-bearing  Animals.— Severity  of  Cli- 
*^       mate.— St.  John's.— Discovery  of  Newfoundland  by  the  Scandinavians.— Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert.— 
Rivalry  of  the  English  and  French.— Importance  of  the  Fisheries.— The  Banks  of  Newfoundland.— 
Mode  of  Fishing.— Throaters,  Headers,  Splitters,  Suiters,  and  Packers.— Fogs  and  Storms.— Seal- 
catching  376 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

GREENLAND. 

A  mysterious  Region. — Ancient  Scandinavian  Colonists. — Their  Decline  and  Fall. — Hans  Egede.— His 
Trials  and  Success.— Foundation  of  Godthaab.— Herrenhuth  Missionaries.— Lindenow,— The  Scores- 
bys.— Clavering.— The  Danish  Settlements  in  Greenland.— The  Greenland  Esquimaux.— Seal-catch- ' 
ing.— The  White  Dolphin.— The  Narwhal.— Shark-fishery.— Fiskernasset.— Birds.— Reindeer-hunt- 
ing.—Indigenous  Plants.— Drift-wood.— Mineral  Kingdom.— Mode  of  Life  of  the  Greenland  Esqui- 
maux.— The  Danes  in  Greenland.— Beautiful  Scenery.— Ice  Caves 382 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXXVir. 

THEANTARCTICOCEAN. 

Comparative  View  of  tiie  Antarctic  and  Arctic  Regions.— Inferiority  of  Climate  of  the  former.— Its 
Causes.— Tlie  New  Shetland  Islands.— South  Georgia.— The  Peruvian  Stream.— Sea-birds.— The  Gi- 
ant Petrel.— The  Albatross.— The  Penguin.— The  Austral  Whale.— The  Hunchback.- The  Fin-back. 
—The  Grampus.— Battle  with  a  Whale.— Tlie  Sea-elephant.— The  Southern  Sea-bear.- The  Sea- 
leopard. — Antarctic  Fishes Page  391 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

ANTARCTIC  VOYAGKS    OF   DISCOVERY. 

Cook's  Discoveries  in  the  Antarctic  Ocean.— Bellinghausen.—Weddell  — Biscoe.— Balleny.— Dumont 
d'Urville.— Wilkes.— Sir  James  Ross  crosses  the  Antarctic  Circle  on  New  Year's  Dayj  1841.— Dis- 
covers Victoria  Land.— Dangerous  Landing  on  Franklin  Island.— An  Eruption  of  Mount  Erebus.— 
The  Great  Ice  Barrier.— Providential  Escape.— Dreadful  Gale.— Collision.— Hazardous  Passage  be- 
tween two  Icebergs.— Termination  of  the  Voyage 401 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE   STRAIT    OF  MAGELLAN, 

Description  of  the.  Strait.— Western  Entrance.— Point  Dungeness.— The  Narrows.— Saint  Philip's  Bay. 
—Cape  Froward.—Grand  Scenery.- Port  Famine.— The  Sedger  River.— Darwin's  Ascent  of  Mount 
Tarn.— The  Bachelor  River.— English  Reach.— Sea  Reach.— South  Desolation.— Harboi-  of  Mercy.— 
Williwijws.— Discovery  of  the  Strait  by  Magellan  (October  20,  1521).— Drake.— Sarmiento.— Cav- 
endish.—Schouten  and  Le  Maire.— Byron.— Bougainville.— Wallis  and  Carteret.— King  and  Fitz- 
-Settlement  at  Punta  Arenas.— Increasing  Passage  through  the  Strait.— A  future  Highway  of 
408 


roy.- 
Commcrce , 


CHAPTER  XL. 

PATAGONIA  AND  THE   PATAGONIANS. 

Difference  of  Climate  between  East  and  West  Patagonia.— Extraordinary  Aridily  of  East  Patagonia.— 
Zoology.— The  Guanaco.— The  Tucutuco.— The  Patagonian  Agouti.— -Vultures.— The  Turkey-buz- 
zard.— The  Carrancha.— The  Chimango.— Darwin's  Ostrich. —The  Patagonians.— Exaggerated  Ac- 
counts of  their  Stature.— Their  Physiognomy  and  Dress. — Religious  Ideas.— Superstitions.— Astro- 
nomical Knowledge.— Division  into  Tribes.— The  Tent,  or  Toldo.— Trading  Routes.— The  great 
Cacique.— Introduction  of  the  Horse.— Industry. — Amusements. — Character 417 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

THE     FDEGI  AN  S. 

Their  miserable  Condition. — Degradation  of  Body  and  Mind. — Powers  of  Mimicry. — Notions  of  Barter. 
—Causes  of  their  low  State  of  Cultivation. — Their  Food.— Limpets. — Cyttaria  Darioini.— Constant 
Migrations. — The  Fuegian  Wigwam.— Weapons. — Their  probable  Origin. — Their  Number,  and  va- 
rious Tribes.— Constant  Feuds. — Cannibalism.— Language.— Adventures  of  Fuegia  Basket,  Jemmy 
Button,  and  York  Minster.— Missionary  Labors.— Captain  Gardiner.— His  lamentable  End. . . .  425 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

CHARLES  FRANCIS   HALL  AND  THE   INNUITS. 

Hall's  Expedition.— His  early  Life.— His  reading  of  Arctic  Adventure.— His  Resolve.— His  Arctic  Out- 
iit.— Sets  sail  on  the  "George  Henrj^."- The  Voyage.— Kudlago.—Holsteinborg,  Greenland.— Pop- 
ulation of  Greenland.— Sails  for  Davis's  Strait.— Character  of  the  Innuits.— Wreck  of  the  "Rescue." 
— Ebierbing  and  Tookoolito.— Their  Visit  to  England.— Hall's  first  Exploration.— European  and  In- 
nuit  Life  in  the  Arctic  Regions.— Building  an  Igloo.— Almost  Starved.— Fight  for  Food  with  Dogs. 
—Ebierbing  arrives  with  a  Seal.— How  he  caught  it.— A  Seal-feast.— The  Innuits  and  Seals.— The 
Polar  Bear.— How  he  teaches  the  Innuits  to  catch  Seals.— At  a  Seal-hole.— Dogs  as  Seal-iinnters.— 
Dogs  and  Bears.— Dogs  and  Reindeers.— Innuits  and  Walruses.— More  about  Igloos.— Innuit  Imple- 
ments.—Uses  of  the  Reindeer. — Innuit  Improvidence. — A  Deer-feast.— A  frozen  Delicacy.— Whale- 
skin  as  Food.— Whale-gum.— How  to  eat  Whale  Ligament. — Raw  Meat. —The  Dress  of  the  Innuits. 


V  CONTENTS. 

—A  pretty  Style.— Religious  Ideas  of  the  Inmiits.— Their  kindly  Character.— Treatment  of  the 
Aged  and  Infirm.— A  Woman  abandoned  to  die.— Hall's  Attempt  to  rescue  her.— The  Inuuit  Nomads, 
■without  any  form  of  Government.— Their  Numbers  diminishing.— A  Sailor  wanders  away.— Hall's 
Search  for  him.— Finds  him  frozen  to  death.— The  Ship  free  from  Ice.— Preparations  to  return.— 
Reset  in  the  Ice-paclj. — Another  Arctic  Winter.— Breaking  up  of  the  Ice.— Departure  for  Home.— 
Tookoolito  and  her  Child  •'  Butterfly."— Death  of  "  Butterfly."— Arrival  at  Home.— Results  of  Hall's 
Expedition.— Innuit  Traditions.— Discovery  of  Frobisher  Relics.— Hall  undertakes  a  second  Expedi- 
tion.—His  Statement  of  its  Object  and  Prospects.— Last  Tidings  of  Hall Page  433 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


^  PAGE 

1.  Esquimaux  Doar-team : ...Hai-l.  1 

2.  The  Tundra  of  "Siberia Atkinson."-  17 

3.  ludian  Summer  Encampment,  Alaska Whympku.  18 

4.  Rocks  and  Ice »Hall.  20 

5.  Coast  of  Labrador Harper  b  Mag.  21 

6.  Coast  of  Norway Browne.  22 

T.  Arctic  Forest Lamont.  28 

8.  Verge  of  Forest  Region Harper  s  Mag.      24 

9.  Forest  Conflasratiou ^  uymper.      26 


10.  Arctic  Clotliiug. 


.Harper's  Mag.      29 


11.  Arctic  Moonlight ■  ■ ;  •  H  ai-i,.  30 

12.  Aurora  seen  in  Norway Harper  s  Mag.  81 

13.  Aurora  seen  in  Greenland Hall.  Al 

14.  Group  of  Reindeer Lamont.  35 

15.  Elks JJ,"""-  39 

16.  The  Musk-ox ■■■■^^ oon.  40 

17    Aro-ali  Atkinson.  41 

is!  The  Suo\\TOwi---'- •■•■•■■•■••■••■•■■  ••■•••••••• Wood.  43 

19.  Beruide  Goose ^*'°''-  If 

20.  The  Sea-eagle - ;^'?°"-  ^ 

21.  Arctic  Navfgation Harper  s  Mag.  45 

22.  Among  Hummocks Harper  s  Mag.  46 

23.  Drifting  on  the  Ice Harper  s^Iag.  47 

24.  Forms  of  Icebergs 


Iall.      47 


5.  Gothic  Icebergs . 


.m 


26.  Pinnacle  Icebergs Hall.  48 

27.  Icebergs  aground Hall.  49 

28.  Icebergs  and  Glacier,  Frobisher  Bay •  •  •  •  U'^'-t.  oi 

29.  Glacier,  Bute  Inlet ^V  uymper.  52 

30.  Scaling  an  Iceberg. : hall,  sd 

31.  An  Arctic  Channel g'^i-^-  ^^ 

32.  Open  Water JIall.  57 

33.  Glacier  Discharging .Hall.  5b 

34.  The  Whale S.**"""  f. 

35.  The  Narwhal ;  •  Wood.  61 

36.  Walruses  on  the  Ice Lamont.  6d 

37.  Home  of  the  Polar  Bear Wood.  66 

38.  The  Gull Wood.  67 

39.  Lava-flelds Browne.  68 

40.  Efflgy  in  Lava Browne.  70 

41.  The  Strokkr Browne.  72 

42.  Entrance  to  the  Almannagja Browne.  7d 

43.  The  Almannagja Browne.  74 

44.  The  Hrafuagia Browne.  ii5 

45.  The  Tintrou  Rock Browne.  ^5 

46.  Fall  of  the  Oxeraa Browne.  .6 

47.  Icelandic  Horses Browne.  81 

4S.  Shooting  Reindeer Lajiont.  82 

49.  The  Eider-duck Wood.  83 

50.  The  Jyrfalcon Wood.  85 

51.  The  Giant  Auk Wood.  86 

52.  Cathedral  at  Reykjavik Browne.  89 

53.  Thingvalla,  Logberi;  and  Almauuatrja Browne.  9a 

54.  Reykjavik,  the^CaiVital  of  Iceland .: Browne.  98 

55.  Governor's  Residence,  Reykjavik Browne.  99 

56.  Icelandic  Houses Browne.  103 

57.  Church  at  Thingvalla Browne.  105 

5S.  The  Pastor's  House,  Thingvalla Browne.  106 

59.  The  Pastor  of  Thingvalla Browne.  107 

60.  Bridge  River,  Iceland '. Browne.  Ill 

61.  Icelandic  Bog Browne.  113 

62.  Coast  of  Iceland Browne.  114 

63.  Westman  Isles Browne.  115 

64.  Home  of  Sea-birds Browne.  117 

65.  Fishing  in  Norway Browne.  120 

66.  Norweliaii  Farm Browne.  122 

67.  Steaming  along  the  Coast Browne,  lid 

68.  The  Puflin Wood.  124 

69.  The  Dovrefjeld .Browne.  12. 

70.  Midnight  Sun  off  Spitzbergen Ddfferin.  Ui 

71.  Magdilena  Bay,  Spitzbergen Dufferin.  134 

72.  Bunal  in  Spitzbergen Dufferin.  139 


73.'  Arctic  Pox... '....!"... '.■.■.".■.■.■.■-..■ Dufferin. 


140 
Lamont.     143 


74.  Chase  of  tl^  Walrus ^ 

75.  A  glimpse  of  Jau  Meyen's  Island Dufferin. 


145 


xvi  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

76.  A  Samoiede  Priest : Atkinson.  179 

77.  Banks  of  the  Inysch Atkinson.  185 

78.  Group  of  Kirghis Atkinson.  188 

79.  View  of  Tagilsk Atkinson.  191 

80.  The  Beach  at  Nicolayevsk Harper's  Mao.  196 

81.  On  the  Amoor Haepek's  Mag.  197 

82.  Village  ou  the  Amoor Harper's  Mag.  198 

83.  Koriak  Yourt Haupee's  Mag.  199 

84.  Kamchatka  Sables Haepee's  Mag.  201 

85.  Tartar  Eocampmeut Atkinson.  204 

86.  Siberian  Peasant Atkinson.  207 

87.  View  of  Irkutsk Harper's  Mag.  209 

83.  A  Jakut  Village Harper's  Mag.  2'29 

89.  Bering's  Monument  at  Petropavlosk Whympek.  248 

90.  Church  at  Petropavlosk Wuympeb.  254 

91.  View  of  Petropavlosk ^ ]]  .'harper's  Mag.'  257 

92.  Dogs  Fishing Harper's  Mag.  259 

93.^og-team M'uy  jiper.  259 

94.  Dogs  Towiug  Boat .Harper's  Mag.  260 

95.  Frame-work  of  Tchuktchi  House. Wuymper.  262 

96.  Tchuktchi  Cauoe Harper's  Mag.  203 

97.  Tchuktchi  Pipe Wuymper.  264 

98.  An  Aleut Whympee.  268 

99.  View  of  Sitka Whymper.  270 

100.  A  Baidar Harper's  Mag.  272 

101.  Fort  St.  Michael Wuymper.  277 

102.  The  Frozen  Yukon ....Whymper.  279 

103.  Under-ground  House Why-mper.  280 

104.  Fish-traps  on  the  Yukon Wuymper.  281 

105.  Aurora  atNuIato .' ......  ..Wu\mve-r.  282 

106.  Breaking  up  of  the  Ice Whymper.  283 

107.  Fort  Yukon Wuymper.  285 

lOS.  A  Deer  Corral Wuymper.  286 

109.  Lip  Ornaments Harper's  Mag.  287 

110.  A  Baidar Harper's  Mag.  288 

111.  Four-post  Coffin Whymper.  288 

112.  Tanana  Indian Wii ympee.  289 

113.  Winter  Hut  of  Hunters Mieton.  309 

114.  Fort  Edmonton,  North  Saskatchewan Milton  311 

115.  Trader's  Camp .' Haepee's  Mag."  312 

110.  Swamp  formed  by  deserted  Beaver  Dam Milton.  314 

117.  Hunting  Bison  in  the  Snow Harper's  Mag.  319 

118.  Herd  of  Bison Harper's  Mag.  320 

119.  Driving  Bison  over  a  Precipice Harper's  Mag.  321 

120.  Watching  for  Crees Milton.  322 

121.  A  Cree  Village Harper's  Mag.  324 

122.  The  Albatross Wood.  396 

123.  Strait  of  Magellan  Harper's  Mag.  408 

124.  A  Highway  of  Commerce -. Harper's  Mag.  416 

125.  Patagonians Harper's  Mag.  417 

126.  Coast  of  Fuegia Harper's  Maq.  425 

127.  Fuegian  Traders Harper's  Mag.  427 

128.  A  Fnegian  and  his  Food Harper's  Mag.  429 

129.  Starvation  Beach Harper's  Mag.  432 

130.  Surveying  iu  Greenland Hall.  433 

131.  Hall  and  Companions,  in  lunuit  Costume Hall.  434 

132.  Kudlago Hall.  436 

133.  Greenland  Currency Hall.  437 

134.  Woman  and  Child.     (Drawn  and  Engraved  by  an  Innuit.) Hall.  438 

135.  Festival  of  the  Birthday  of  the  King'of  Denmark Hall.  439 

136.  Preparing  Boot-soles Hall.  440 

137.  Wreck  of  the  Rescue Hall.  441 

138.  The  George  Henry  laid  up  for  the  Winter Hall.  442 

139.  Storm-bound Hall.  443 

140.  lunuit  Stone  Lamp Hall.  444 

141.  Fighting  for  Food Hall.  445 

142.  Through  the  Snow Hall.  446 

143.  Waiting  by  a  Seal-hole Hall.  447 

144.  Looking  for  Seals Hall.  448 

145.  lunuit  Strategy  to  Capture  a  Seal Hall.  449 

146.  Seal-hole  and  Igloo Hall.  450 

147.  Waiting  for  a  Blow Hall.  460 

148.  Dog  and  Seal Hall.  451 

149.  Spearing  through  the  Snow Hall.  452 

150.  Dogs  and  Bear Hall.  463 

151.  Barbekark  and  the  Reindeer «. Hall.  454 

152.  Head  of  Reindeer Hall.  454 

153.  Spearing  the  Walrus Hall.  455 

154.  Innuit  Igloos Hall.  456 

155.  Walrus  Skull  and  Tusks .'Hall.  457 

156.  The  Woman's  Knife Hall.  457 

157.  Innuit  Implements Hall.  4.58 

158.  Finding  the  Dead Hall.  461 

159.  Innuit  Summer  Villaire Hall.  462 

160.  Returniug  to  the  Ship Hall.  463 

161.  Over  the  Ice : Hall.  404 

162.  The  Frozen  Sailor Hall.  405 

163.  Farewell  of  the  Innuits Hall.  4G7 


THE  POLAR  WORLD 


TUE   TUNDKA   OF   SIBERIA. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE   ARCTIC   LANDS. 

The  barren  Grounds  or  Tundri. — Abundance  of  animal  Life  on  the  Tundri  in  Summer.— Their  Silence 
and  Desolation  in  Winter. — Protection  afforded  to  Vegetation  by  the  Snow. — Flower-growth  in 
the  higliest  Latitudes. — Character  of  Tundra  Vegetation. — Southern  Boundary-line  of  the  barren 
Grounds. — Their  Extent. — The  forest  Zone. — Arctic  Trees. — Slowness  of  their  Growth. — Monotonj' 
of  the  Northern  Forests. — Mosquitoes. — The  various  Causes  which  determine  the  Severity  of  an 
Arctic  Climate. — Insular  and  Continental  Position. — Currents. — Winds. — Extremes  of  Cold  observed 
by  Sir  E.  Belcher  and  Dr.  Kane.— How  is  Man  able  to  support  the  Rigors  of  an  Arctic  Winter?— 
Proofs  of  a  milder  Climate  having  once  reigned  in  the  Arctic  Regions. — Its  Cause  according  to 
Dr.  Oswald  Heer. — Peculiar  Beauties  of  the  Arctic  Regions. — Sunset.— Long  lunar  Nights.— The 
Aurora. 

A  GLANCE  at  a  map  of  the  Arctic  regions  shows  us  that  many  of  the 
-^-*-  rivers  belonging  to  the  three  continents — Europe,  Asia,  America— dis- 
charge their  Avaters  into  the  Polar  Ocean  or  its  tributary  bays.  The  terri- 
tories drained  by  these  streams,  some  of  which  (such  as  the  Mackenzie,  the 
Yukon,  the  Lena,  the  Yenisei,  and  the  Obi)  rank  among  the  giant  rivers  of 
the  earth,  form,  along  with  the  islands  within  or  near  the  Arctic  circle,  the 
vast  region  over  which  the  frost-king  reigns  supreme. 

Man  styles  himself  the  lord  of  the  earth,  and  may  with  some  justice  lay 
claim  to  the  title  in  more  genial  lands  where,  armed  with  the  plough,  he  com- 
pels the  soil  to  yield  him  a  variety  of  fruits ;   but  in  those  desolate  tracts 

2 


18 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


which  are  winter-bound  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  lie  is  generally  a 
mere  w^anderer  over  its  surface — a  hunter,  a  fisherman,  or  a  herdsman — and 
but  few  small  settlements,  separated  from  each  other  by  immense  deserts 
give  proof  of  his  having  made  some  weak  attempts  to  establish  a  footing. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  with  precision  the  limits  of  the  Arctic  lands  since 
many  countries  situated  as  low  as  latitude  60°  or  even  50°,  such  as  South 
Greenland,  Labrador,  Alaska,  Kamchatka,  or  the  country  about  Lake  Baikal, 
have  hi  their  climate  and  productions  a  decidedly  Arctic  character,  while  others 
of  a  far  more  northern  position,  such  as  the  coast  of  Norway,  enjoy  even  in 
winter  a  remarkably  mild  temperature.  But  they  are  naturally  divided  into 
two  principal  and  well-marked  zones — that  of  the  forests,  and  tliat  of  the  tree- 
less wastes. 


The  latter,  comprising  the  islands  within  the  Arctic  Circle,  form  a  belt,  more 
or  less  broad,  bounded  by  the  continental  shores  of  the  North  Polar  seas,  and 
gradually  merging  toward  the  south  into  the  forest-region,  which  encircles 
them  with  a  garland  of  evergreen  conifer^.'  This  treeless  zone  bears  the 
name  of  the  "  barren  grounds,"  or  the  "  barrens,"  in  North  America,  and  of 
"  tundri "  in  Siberia  and  European  Russia.  Its  want  of  trees  is  caused  not 
so  much  by  its  high  northern  latitude  as  by  the  cold  sea-winds  which  sweep 
unchecked  over  the  islands  or  the  flat  coast-lands  of  the  Polar  Ocean,  and 
for  miles  and  miles  compel  even  the  hardiest  plant  to  crouch  before  the  blast 
and  creep  along  the  ground. 

Nothing  can  be  more  melancholy  than  the  aspect  of  the  boundless  morasses 
or  arid  wastes  of  the  tundri.     Dingy  mosses  and  gray  lichens  form  the  chief 


THE   ARCTIC   LANDS.  19 

vegetation,  and  a  few  scanty  grasses  or  dwarfish  flowers  that  may  have  found 
a  refuge  in  some  more  sheltered  spot  are  unable  to  relieve  the  dull  monotony 
of  the  scene. 

In  winter,  when  animal  life  has  mostly  retreated  to  the  south  or  sought  a 
refuge  in  burrows  or  in  caves,  an  awful  silence,  interrupted  only  by  the  hooting 
of  a  snow-owl  or  the  yelping  of  a  fox,  reigns  over  their  vast  expanse;  but  in 
spring,  when  the  brown  earth  reappears  from  imder  the  melted  snow  and  the 
swamps  begin  to  thaw,  enormous  flights  of  wild  birds  appear  upon  the  scene 
and  enliven  it  for  a  few  months.  An  admirable  instinct  leads  their  winged 
legions  from  distant  climes  to  the  Arctic  wildernesses,  where  in  the  morasses 
or  lakes,  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  on  the  flat  strands,  or  along  the  fish-teem- 
ing coasts,  they  find  an  abundance  of  food,  and  where  at  the  same  time  they 
can  with  greater  security  build  their  nests  and  rear  their  young.  Some  re- 
main on  the  skirts  of  the  forest-region  ;  others,  flying  farther  northward,  lay 
their  eggs  upon  the  naked  tundra.  Eagles  and  hawks  follow  the  traces  of  the 
natatorial  and  strand  birds;  troops  of  ptarmigans  roam  among  the  stunted 
bushes ;  and  when  the  sun  shines,  the  finch  or  tlie  snow-bunting  warbles  his 
merry  note. 

While  thus  the  Avarmth  of  summer  attracts  hosts  of  migratory  birds  to  tlie 
Arctic  wildernesses,  shoals  of  salmon  and  sturgeons  enter  the  rivers  in  obe- 
dience to  the  instinct  that  forces  them  to  quit  the  seas  and  to  swim  stream 
upward,  for  the  purpose  of  depositing  their  spawn  in  the  tranquil  sweet  wa- 
ters of  the  stream  or  Jake.  About  this  time  also  the  reindeer  leaves  the 
forests  to  feed  on  the  herbs  and  lichens  of  the  tundra,  and  to  seek  along  the 
shores  fanned  by  the  cooled  sea-breeze  some  protection  against  the  attacks  of 
the  stinging  flies  that  rise  in  myriads  from  the  swamps.  Thus  during  several 
months  the  tundra  presents  an  animated  scene,  in  which  man  also  plays  his 
part.  The  birds  of  the  air,  the  fishes  of  the  water,  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  are 
all  obliged  to  pay  their  tribute  to  his  various  wants,  to  appease  his  hunger,  to 
clothe  his  body,  or  to  gratify  his  greed  of  gain. 

But  as  soon  as  the  first  frosts  of  September  announce  the  approach  of  win- 
ter, all  animals,  with  but  few  exceptions,  hasten  to  leave  a  region  Avhere  the 
sources  of  life  must  soon  fail.  The  geese,  ducks,  and  swans  return  in  dense 
flocks  to  the  south ;  the  strand-birds  seek  in  sorne  lower  latit^jde  a  softer  soil 
which  allows  their  sharp  beak  to  seize  a  burrowing  prey;  the  water-fowl  for- 
sake the  bays  and  channels  that  will  soon  be  blocked  up  with  ice;  the  reindeer 
once  more  return  to  the  forest,  and  in  a  short  time  nothing  is  left  that  can  in- 
duce man  to  prolong  his  stay  in  the  treeless  plain.  Soon  a  thick  mantle  of 
snow  covers  the  hardened  earth,  the  frozen  lake,  the  ice-boiind  river,  and  con- 
ceals them  all — seven,  eight,  nine  months  long — under  its  monotonous  pall, 
except  where  the  furious  north-east  wind  sweeps  it  away  and  lays  bare  the 
naked  rock. 

This  snow,  which  "after  it  has  once  fallen  persists  until  the  long  summer's 
day  has  effectually  thawed  it,  protects  in  an  admirable  manner  the  vegetation 
of  the  higher  latitudes  against  the  cold  of  the  long  winter  season.  For  snow 
is  so  bad  a  conductor  of  heat,  tliat  in  mid-winter  in  the  higli  latitude  of  78° 


20  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


ROCKS   AND   ICE. 


50'  (Rensselaer  Bay),  while  the  surface  temperature  was  as  low  as  —30°,  Kane 
found  at  two  feet  deep  a  temperature  of  -  8°,  at  four  feet  +2°,  and  at  eight 
feet  +26°,  or  no  more  than  six  degrees  below  the  freezing-point  of  water. 
Thus  covered  by  a  warm  crystal  snow-mantle,  the  northern  plants  pass  the  long 
Avinter  in  a  comparatively  mild  temperature,  high  enough  to  maintain  their  life, 
while,  without,  icy  blasts — capable  of  converting  mercury  into  a  solid  body — 
howl  over  the  naked  wilderness ;  and  as  the  first  snow-falls  are  more  cellular 
and  less  condensed  than  the  nearly  impalpable  powder  of  winter,  Kane  justly 
observes  that  no  "  eider-down  in  the  cradle  of  an  infant  is  tucked  in  more 
kindly  than  the  sleeping-dress  of  winter  about  the  feeble  plant-life  of  the  Arc- 
tic zone."  Thanks  to  this  protection,  and  to  the  influence  of  a  sun  which  for 
months  circles  above  the  horizon,  and  in  favorable  localities  calls  forth  the  pow- 
ers of  vegetatioi*  in  an  incredibly  short  time,  even  Washington,  Grinnell  Land, 
and  Spitzbergen  are  able  to  boast  of  flowers.  Morton  plucked  a  crucifer  at 
Cape  Constitution  (80°  45'  N.  lat.),  and,  on  the  banks  of  Mary  Minturn  River 
(78°  52'),  Kane  came  across  a  flower-growth  which,  though  drearily  Arctic  in 
its  type,  was  rich  in  variety  and  coloring.  Amid  festuca  and  other  tufted 
grasses  twinkled  the  purple  lychnis  and  the  white  star  of  the  chickweed ;  and, 
not  without  its  pleasing  associations,  he  recognized  a  solitary  hesperis — the 
Arctic  representative  of  the  wall-flowers  of  home. 

Next  to  the  lichens  and  mosses,  which  form  the  chief  vegetation  of  the 
treeless  zone,  the  cruciferre,  the  grasses,  the  saxifragas,  the  caryophyllte,  and 
the  compositae  are  the  families  of  plants  most  largely  represented  in  the  barren 
grounds  or  tundri.  Though  vegetation  becomes  more  and  more  uniform  on 
advancing  to  the  north,  yet  the  number  of  individual  plants  does  not  decrease. 


THE  ARCTIC  LANDS.  21 

When  the  soil  is  moderately  dry,  the  surface  is  covered  by  a  dense  carpet  of 
lichens  {Cormcularice),  mixed  in  damper  spots  with  Icelandic  moss.  In  more 
tenacious  soils,  other  plants  flourish,  not  however  to  the  exclusion  of  lichens,  ex- 
cept in  tracts  of  meadow  ground,  which  occur  in  sheltered  situations,  or  in  the 


C*^^ 


lAST    OF   LABKADUK. 


alluvial   inundated  flats  where  tall  reed-grasses  or  dwarf  willows   frequently 
grow  as  closely  as  they  can  stand. 

It  may  easily  be  supposed  that  the  boundary-Une  which  separates  the  tun- 
dri  from  the  forest  zone  is  both  indistinct  and  irregular.  In  some  parts  where 
the  cold  sea-winds  have  a  Avider  range,  the  barren  grounds  encroach  consider- 


22 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


ably  upon  the  limits  of  the  forests  ;  in  others,  where  the  configuration  of  the 
laud  jM-events  their  action,  the  woods  advance  farther  to  the  north. 

Thus  the  barren  grounds  ahain  their  most  southerly  limit  in  Labrador, 
where  they  descend  to  latitude  57°,  and  this  is  sufticiently  explained  by  the 
position  of  tliat  bleak  peninsula,  bounded  on  three  sides  by  icy  seas,  and  washed 
'by  cold  currents  from  the  north.  On  the  opposite  coasts  of  Hudson's  Bay 
they  begin  about  60°,  and  thence  gradually  rise  toward  the  mouth  of  the 
Mackenzie,  where  the  forests  advance  as  high  as  68°,  or  even  still  farther  to  the 
north  along  the  low  banks  of  that  river.  From  the  Mackenzie  the  barrens 
again  descend  until  they  reach  Bering's  Sea  in  65°  N".  On  the  opposite  or 
Asiatic  shore,  in  the  land  of  the  Tchuktchi,  they  begin  again  more  to  the  south, 
in  63°,  thence  continually  rise  as  far  as  the  Lena,  where  Anjou  found  trees  in 
71°  N,,  and  then  fall  again  toward  the  Obi,  where  the  forests  do  not  even  reach 
the  Arctic  circle.  From  the  Obi  the  tundri  retreat  farther  and  farther  to  the 
north,  until  finally,  on  the  coasts  of  Norway,  in  latitude  70°,  they  terminate 
with  the  land  itself. 

Hence  we  see  that  the  treeless  zone  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  America  occupies 
a  space  larger  than  the  whole  of  Europe.  Even  the  African  Sahara,  or  the 
Pampas  of  South  America,  are  inferior  in  extent  to  the  Siberian  tundri.  But 
the  possession  of  a  few  hundred  square  miles  of  fruitful  territory  on  the  south- 
western frontiers  of  his  vast  empire  would  be  of  greater  value  to  the  Czar  than 
that  of  those  boundless  wastes,  which  are  tenanted  only  by  a  few  Avretched 
pastoral  tribes,  or  some  equally  wretched  fishermen. 

The  Arctic  forest-regions  are  of  a  still  greater  extent  than  the  vast  treeless 
plains  wliich  they  encircle.     When  we  consider  that  they  form  an  almost  con- 


COAST   OF  NORWAY 


THE   ARCTIC   LANDS. 


w 


tiniious  belt,  stretching  through  three  parts  of  the  world,  in  a  breadth  of  from 
15°  to  20°,  even  the  woods  of  the  Amazon,  wliich  cover  a  snrface  fifteen  times 
greater  than  that  of  the  United  Kingdom,  shrink  into  comparative  insignifi- 
cance. Unlike  the  tropical  forests,  which  are  characterized  by  an  immense 
variety  of  trees,  these  northern  woods  are  almost  entii'ely  composed  of  conif- 
eraa,  and  one  single  kind  of  fir  or  pine  often  covers  an   immense  extent  of 


24 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


(ground.     The  European  and  Asiatic  species  differ,  however,  from  those  whicli 
grow  in  America. 

Thus  in  the  Russian  empire  and  Scandinavia  we  find  the  Scotch  fir  {Pinus 
sylvestris),  the  Siberian  fir  and  larch  {Abies  sihlrica,  Larix  sibirica),  the  Picea 
obovata,  and  the  Pimis  cembra ;  while  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories  the 
woods  principally  consist  of  the  white  and  black  spruce  {Abies  alba  and 
nigra),  the  Canadian  larch  {Zarix  canadensis,  and  the  gray  pine  {Pinus 
banksiana).  In  both  continents  birch-trees  grow  farther  to  the  north  than 
the  conifer^e,  and  the  dwarf  willows  form  dense  thickets  on  the  shores  of  every 
river  and  lake.  Various  species  of  the  service-tree,  the  ash,  and  the  elder  are 
also  met  with  in  the  Arctic  forests ;  and  both  under  the  shelter  of  the  woods 
and  beyond  their  limits,  nature,  as  if  to  compensate  for  the  want  of  fruit-trees, 
produces  in  favorable  locaUties  an  abundance  of  bilberries,  bogberries,  cran- 
berries, etc.  {Empetrum,  Vaccinium),  whose  fruit  is  a  great  boon  to  man  and 
beast.  When  congealed  by  the  autumnal  frosts,  the  berries  frequently  remain 
hanging  on  the  bushes  until  the  snow  melts  in  the  following  June,  and  are 
then  a  considerable  resource  to  the  flocks  of  water-fowl  migrating  to  their 
northern  breeding-places,  or  to  the  bear  awakening  from  his  winter  sleep. 


^m 


VEKGE  OF  FOREST  REGION. 


THE   ARCTIC  LANDS.  25 

Another  distinctive  character  of  the  forests  of  the  high  latitudes  is  their 
apparent  youth,  so  that  generally  the  traveller  would  hardly  suppose  them  to 
be  more  than  fifty  years,  or  at  most  a  ceiftury  old.  Their  juvenile  appearance 
increases  on  advancing  northward,  until  suddenly  their  decrepit  age  is  re- 
vealed by  the  thick  bushes  of  lichens  which  clothe  or  hang  down  from  their 
shrivelled  boughs.  Farther  to  the  south,  large  trees  are  found  scattered  here 
and  there,  but  not  so  numerous  as  to  modify  the  general  appearance  of  the 
forest,  and  even  these  are  mere  dwarfs  when  compared  with  the  gigantic  firs 
of  more  temperate  climates.  This  phenomenon  is  sufficiently  explained  by  the 
shortness  of  the  summer,  which,  though  able  to  bring  forth  new  shoots,  does 
not  last  long  enough  for  the  formation  of  wood.  Hence  the  growth  of  trees 
becomes  slower  and  slower  on  advancing  to  the  north  ;  so  that  on  the  banks 
of  the  Great  Bear  Lake,  for  instance,  400  years  are  necessary  for  the  formation 
of  a  trunk  not  thicker  than  a  man's  w^aist.  Toward  the  confines  of  the  tundra, 
the  woods  are  reduced  to  stunted  stems,  covered  with  blighted  buds  that  have 
been  unable  to  develop  themselves  into  branches,  and  which  prove  by  their 
numbers  how  frequently  and  how  vainly  they  have  striven  against  the  wind, 
until  finally  the  last  remnants  of  arboreal  vegetation,  vanquished  by  the  blasts 
of  winter,  seek  refuge  under  a  carpet  of  lichens  and  mosses,  from  which  their 
annual  shoots  hardly  venture  to  peep  forth. 

A  third  peculiarity  which  distinguishes  the  forests  of  the  north  from  those 
of  the  tropical  world  is  what  may  be  called  their  harmless  character.  There 
the  traveller  finds  none  of  those  noxious  plants  whose  juices  contain  a  deadly 
poison,  and  even  thorns  and  prickles  are  of  rare  occurrence.  No  venomous 
snake  glides  through  the  thicket ;  no  crocodile  lurks  in  the  swamp  ;  and  the 
northern  beasts  of  prey — the  bear,  the  lynx,  the  wolf — are  far  less  dangerous 
and  blood-thirsty  than  the  large  felidse  of  the  torrid  zone. 

The  comparatively  small  number  of  animals  living  in  the  Arctic  forests 
corresponds  with  the  monotony  of  their  vegetation.  Here  we  should  seek  in 
vain  for  that  immense  variety  of  insects,  or  those  troops  of  gaudy  birds  which 
in  the  Brazilian  woods  excite  the  admiration,  and  not  unfrequently  cause  the 
despair  of  the  wanderer ;  here  we  should  in  vain  expect  to  hear  the  clamorous 
voices  that  resound  in  the  tropical  thickets.  No  noisy  monkeys  or  quarrel- 
some parrots  settle  on  the  branches  of  the  trees ;  no  shrill  cicadse  or  melan- 
choly goat-suckers  interrupt  the  solemn  stillness  of  the  night ;  the  howl  of  the 
hungry  wolf,  or  the  hoarse  screech  of  some  solitary  bird  of  prey,  are  almost 
the  only  sounds  that  ever  disturb  the  repose  of  these  awful  solitudes.  "When 
the  tropical  hurricane  sweeps  over  the  virgin  forests,  it  awakens  a  thousand 
voices  of  alai-m ;  but  the  Arctic  storm,  however  furiously  it  may  blow,  scarce- 
ly calls  forth  an  echo  from  the  dismal  shades  of  the  pine-woods  of  the  north. 

In  one  respect  only  the  forests  and  swamps  of  the  northern  regions  vie  in 
abundance  of  animal  life  with  those  of  the  equatorial  zone,  for  the  legions  of 
gnats. which  the  short  polar  summer  calls  forth  from  the  Arctic  morasses  are  a 
no  less  intolerable  phgue  than  the  mosquitoes  of  the  tropical  marshes. 

Though  agriculture  encroaches  but  little  upon  the  Arctic  woods,  yet  the 
agency  of  man  is  gradually  working  a  change  in  their  aspect.     Large  tracts  ol 


26 


THE   POLAR    WORLD. 


forest  are  eontiiinally  wasted  by  extensive  fires,  kindled  accidentally  or  inten- 
tionally, which  spread  with  rapidity  over  a  wide  extent  of  country,  and  con- 


tinue to  burn  until  they  are  extinguished  by  a  heavy  rain.  Sooner  or  later  a 
new  growth  of  timber  springs  up,  but  the  soil,  being  generally  enriched  and 
saturated  with  alkali,  now  no  longer  brings  forth  its  aboriginal  firs,  but  gives 
birth  to  a  thicket  of  beeches  {Betula  alba)  in  Asia,  or  of  aspens  in  America. 


THE  ARCTIC  LANDS.  27 

The  line  of  perpetual  snow  may  naturally  be  expected  to  descend  lower  and 
lower  on  advancing,to  the  pole,  and  hence  many  mountainous  regions  or  ele- 
vated plateaux,  such  as  the  interior  of  Spitzbergen,  of  Greenland,^  of  Nova 
Zembla,  etc.,  which  in  a  more  temperate  clime  would  be  verdant  with  woods 
or  meadows,  are  here  covered  with  vast  fields  of  ice,  from  which  frequently 
glaciers-  descend  down  to  the  verge  of  the  sea.  But  even  in  the  highest  north- 
ern latitudes,  no  land  has  yet  been  found  covered  as  far  as  the  water's  edge 
with  eternal  snow,  or  where  winter  has  entirely  subdued  the  powers  of  vegeta- 
tion. The  reindeer  of  Spitzbergen  find  near  80°  N.  lichens  or  grasses  to  feed 
upon  ;  in  favorable  seasons  the  snow  melts  by  the  end  of  June  on  the  plains  of 
Melville  Island,  and  numerous  lemmings,  requiring  vegetable  food  for  their  sub- 
sistence, inhabit  the  deserts  of  New  Siberia.  As  far  as  man  has  reached  to  the 
north,  vegetation,  when  fostered  by  a  sheltered  situation  and  the  refraction  of 
solar  heat  from  the  rocks,  has  everywhere  been  found  to  rise  to  a  considerable 
altitude  above  the  level  of  the  sea ;  and  should  there  be  land  at  the  North  Pole, 
th'ere  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  destitute  neither  of  animal  nor  vege- 
table life.  It  would  be  equally  erroneous  to  suppose  that  the  cold  of  winter  in- 
variably increases  as  we  near  the  pole,  as  the  temperature  of  a  land  is  influ- 
enced by  many  other  causes  besides  its  latitude.  Even  in  the  most  northern 
regions  hitherto  visited  by  man,  the  influence  of  the  sea,  particularly  when  fa- 
vored by  warm  currents,  is  found,  to  mitigate  the  severity  of  the  winter,  while 
at  the  same  time  it  diminishes  the  warmth  of  summer.  Ontthe  other  hand, 
the  large  continental  tracts  of  Asia  or  America  that  shelve  toward  the  pole 
have  a  more  intense  winter  cold  and  a  far  greater  summer's  heat  than  many 
coast-lands  or  islands  situated  far  nearer  to  the  pole.  Thus,  to  cite  but  a  few 
examples,  the  western  shores  of  Nova  Zembla,  fronting  a  wide  expanse  of  sea, 
have  an  average  winter  temperature  of  only  —4°,  and  a  mean  summer  temper- 
ature but  little  above  the  freezing-point  of  water  (+36i°),  while  Jakutsk,  sit- 
uated in  the  heart  of  Siberia,  and  20°  nearer  to  the  Equator,  has  a  winter  of 
—36°  6',  and  a  summer  of  +66°  6'.  * 

The  influence  of  the  winds  is  likewise  of  considerable  importance  in  de- 
termining the  greater  or  lesser  severity  of  an  Arctic  climate.  Thus  the  north- 
erly winds  which  prevail  in  Baflin's  Bay  and  Davis's  Straits  during  the  sum- 
mer months,  and  fill  the  straits  of  the  American  north-eastern  Archipelago  with 
ice,  are  probably  the  main  cause  of  the  abnormal  depression  of  temperature  in 
that  quarter ;  while,  on  the  contrary,  the  sou,therly  winds  that  prevail  during 
summer  in  the  valley  of  the  Mackenzie  tend  greatly  to  extend  the  forest  of 
that  favored  region  nearly  down  to  the  shores  of  the  Arctic  Sea.  Even  in  the 
depth  of  a  Siberian  winter,  a  sudden  change  of  wind  is  able  to  raise  the  ther- 
mometer from  a  mercury-congealing  cold  to  a  temperature  above  the  freezing- 
point  of  water,  and  a  warm  wind  has  been  known  to  cause  rain  to  fall  in  Spitz- 
bergen in  the  month  of  January. 

The  voyages  of  Kane  and  Belcher  have  made  us  acquainted  with  the  low- 
est temperatures  ever  felt  by  man.  On  Feb.  5,  1854,  while  the  former  Avas 
wintering  in  Smith's  Sound  (78°  37'  N:  lat.),  the  mean  of  his  best  spirit-ther- 
mometer  showed  the    unexampled  temperature  of  —68°  or    100°  below  the 


28  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

freezing-point  of  Avater.  Then  chloric  ether  became  solid,  and  carefully  pre- 
pared chloroform  exhibited  a  granular  pellicle  on  its  surface.  The  exhalations 
from  the  skin  invested  the  exposed  or  partially  clad  parts  with  a  wreath  of 
vapor.  The  air  had  a  perceptible  pungency  upon  inspiration,  and  every  one, 
as  it  were  involuntarily,  breathed  guardedly  with  compressed  lips.  About  the 
same  time  (February  9  and  10,  1854),  Sir  E.  Belcher  experienced  a  cold  of 
—55°  in  Wellington  Channel  (75°  31'  N.),  and  the  still  lower  temperature  of 

—  62°  on  January  13,  1853,  in  Northumberland  Sound  (76°  52'  N.).  Whym- 
per,  on  December  6,  1866,  experienced  —58  at  Nulatto,  Alaska  (64°  42'  N.). 

Whether  the  temperature  of  the  air  descends  still  lower  on  advancing  to- 
ward the  pole,  or  whether  these  extreme  degrees  of  cold  are  not  sometimes 
surpassed  in  those  mountainous  regions  of  the  north  which,  though  seen,  have 
never  yet  been  explored,  is  of  course  an  undecided  question :  so  much  is  cer- 
tain, that  the  observations  hitherto  made  during  the  winter  of  the  Arctic  re- 
gions have  been  limited  to  too  short  a  time,  and  are  too  few  in  number,  to  en- 
able us  to  determine  with  any  degree  of  certainty  those  points  where  the 
greatest  cold  prevails.  All  we  know  is,  that  beyond  the  Arctic  Circle,  and 
eight  or  ten  degrees  farther  to  the  south  in  the  interior  of  the  continents  of 
Asia  and  America,  the  average  temperature  of  the  winter  generally  ranges  from 

—  20°  to  —30°,  or  even  lower,  and  for  a  great  part  of  the  year  is  able  to  con- 
vert mercury  into  a  solid  body. 

It  may  well  h^  asked  how  man  is  able  to  bear  the  excessively  low  tempera- 
ture of  an  Arctic  winter,  which  must  appear  truly  appalling  to  an  inhabitant 
of  the  temperate  zone.  A  thick  fur  clothing ;  a  hut  small  and  low,  where  the 
warmth  of  a  fire,  or  simply  of  a  train-oil  lamp,  is  husbanded  in  a  narrow  space, 
and,  above  all,  the  wonderful  power  of  the  human  constitution  to  accommodate 
itself  to  every  change  of  climate,  go  far  to  counteract  the  rigor  of  the  cold. 

After  a  very  few  days  the  body  develops  an  increasing  warmth  as  the  ther- 
mometer descends ;  for  the  air  being  condensed  by  the  cold,  the  lungs  inhale 
at  every  breath  a  greater  quantity  of  oxygen,  which  of  course  accelerates  the 
internal  process  of  combustion,  while  at  the  same  time  an  increasing  appetite, 
gratified  with  a  copious  supply  of  animal  food,  of  flesh  and  fat,  enriches  the 
blood  and  enables  it  to  circulate  more  vigorously.  Thus  not  only  the  hardy 
native  of  the  north,  but  even  the  healthy  traveller  soon  gets  accustomed  to 
bear  without  injury  the  rigors  of  an  Arctic  Avinter. 

"  The  mysterious  compensations,"  says  Kane,  "  by  which  we  adapt  our- 
selves to  climate  are  more  striking  here  than  in  the  tropics.  In  the  Polar  zone 
the  assault  is  immediate  and  sudden,  and,  unlike  the  insidious  fatality  of  hot 
countries,  produces  its  results  rapidly.  •  It  requires  lordly  a  single  winter  to 
tell  who  are  to  be  the  heat-making  and  acclimatized  men.  Petersen,  for  in- 
stance, who  has  resided  for  two  years  at  Upernavik,  seldom  enters  a  room  with 
a  fire.  Another  of  our  party,  George  Riley,  with  a  vigorous  constitution,  es- 
tablished habits  of  free  exposure,  and  active  cheerful  temperament,  has  so 
inured  himself  to  the  cold,  that  he  sleeps  on  our  sledge  journeys  without  a 
blanket  or  any  other  covering  than  his  walking  suit,  while  the  outside  tem- 
perature is  —30°." 


THE   ARCTIC   LANDS. 


29 


There  are  many  proofs  that  a  milder  climate  once  reigned  in  the  northern 
regions  of  the  globe.     Fossil  pieces  of  wood,  petrified  acorns  and  fir-cones 


ARCTIC   CLOTHING. 


liave  been  found  in  the  interior  of  Banks's  Land  by  M'Clure's  sledging-parties. 
At  Anakerdluk,  in  North  Greenland  (70°  N.),  a  large  forest  lies  buried  on  a 
mountain  surrounded  by  glaciers,  1080  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Not 
only  the  trunks  and  branches,  but  even  the  leaves,  fruit-cones,  and  seeds  have 
been  preserved  in  the  soil,  and  enable  the  botanist  to  determine  the  species  of 
the  plants  to  which  they  belong.  They  show  that,  besides  firs  and  sequoias, 
oaks,  plantains,  elms,  magnolias,  and  even  laurels,.indicating  a  climate  such  as 
that  of  Lausanne  or  Geneva,  flourished  during  the  miocene  period  in  a  coun- 
try where  now  even  the  willow  is  compelled  to  creep  along  the  ground.  Dur- 
ing the  same  epoch  of  the  earth's  history  Spitzbergen  was  likewise  covered 
with  stately  forests.  The  same  poplars  and  the  same  swamp-cypress  ( Taxo- 
dium  duhium)  which  then  flourished  in  North  Greenland  have  been  found  in 
a  fossilized  state  at  Bell  Sound  (76°  N.)  by  the  Swedish  naturalists;  who  also 
tliscovered  a  plantain  and  a  linden  as  high  as  78°  and  79°  in  King's  Bay — a 
proof  that  in  those  times  the  climate  of  Spitzbergen  can  not  have  been  colder 


30 


THE  POLAR   WORLD. 


than  that  which  now  reigns  in  Southern  Sweden  and  Norway,  eighteen  degrees 
nearer  to  the  Une. 

We  know  that  at  present  the  fir,  the  poplar,  and  the  beech  grow  fifteen  de- 
grees farther  to  the  north  than  the  phintain — and  the  miocene  period  no  doubt 
exhibited  the  same  proportion.  Tlius  tlie  poplars  anjd  firs  which  then  grew 
in  Spitzbergen  along  with  plantains  and  lindens  juust  have  ranged  as  far  as 
the  pole  itself,  supposing  that  point  to  be  dry  land. 

In  the  miocene  times  the  Arctic  zone  evidently  presented  a  very  different 
aspect  from  that  Avhich  it  wears  at  present.  Now,  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  year,  an  immense  glacial  desert,  which  through  its  floating  bergs  and  drift- 
ice  depresses  the  temperature  of  countries  situated  far  to  the  south,  it  then 
consisted  of  verdant  lands  covered  with  luxuriant  forests  and  bathed  by  an 
open  sea. 

What  may  have  been  the  cause  of  these  amazing  changes  of  climate  ?  The 
readiest  answer  seems  to  be — a  different  distribution  of  sea  and  land ;  but 
there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  in  the  miocene  times  there  was  less  land  in 
the  Arctic  zone  than  at  present,  nor  can  any  possible  combination  of  water  and 
dry  land  be  imagined  sufficient  to  account  for  the  growth  of  laurels  in  Green- 
land or  of  plantains  in  Spitzbergen.  Dr.  Oswald  Ileer  is  inclined  to  seek  for 
an  explanation  of  the  phenomenon,  not  in  mere  local  terrestrial  changes,  but  in 
a  difference  of  the  earth's  position  in  the  heavens. 

We  now  know  that  our  sun,  with  his  attendant  planets  and  satellites,  per- 


forms a  vast  circle,  embracing  perhaps  hundreds  of  tliousands  of  years,  round 
another  star,  and  tliat  we  are  constantly  entering  new  regions  of  spnce  untrav- 


THE   ARCTIC   LANDS. 


31 


elled  by  our  earth  before.  We  come  from  the  unknown,  and  plunge  into  the 
unknown  ;  but  so  much  is  certain,  that  our  solar  system  rolls  at  present  through 
a  space  but  thinly  peopled  with  stars,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it 
may  once  have  wandered  through  one  of  those  celestial  provinces  where,  as 
the  telescope  shows  us,  constellations  are  far  more  densely  clustered.  But, 
as  every  star  is  a  blazing  sun,  the  greater  or  lesser  number  of  these  heavenly 
bodies  must  evidently  have  a  proportionate  influence  upon  the  temperature  of 
space;  and  thus  we  may  suppose  that  during  the  miocene  period  our  earth, 
being  at  that  time  in  a  populous  sidereal  region,  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  a 
higher  temperature,  which  clothed  even  its  poles  with  verdure.  In  the  course 
of  ages  the  sun  conducted  his  herd  of  planets  into  more  solitary  and  colder 
regions,  which  caused  the  warm  miocene  times  to  be  followed  by  the  glacial 
period,  during  which  the  Swiss  flat  lands  bore  an  Arctic  character,  and  finally 


the  sun  emerged  into  a  space  of  an  intermediate  character,  which  determines 
the  present  condition  of  the  climates  of  our  globe. 

Though  Nature  generally  wears  a  more  stern  and  forbidding  nspcct  on  ad- 
vancing toward  the  pole,  yet  the  liigh  latitudes  have  many  beauties  of  their 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


^mm 


own.  Xothing  can  exceed  the  magnificence  of  an  Arctic  sunset,  clotliing  tlit 
snow-clad  mountains  and  the  skies  with  all  the  glories  of  color,  or  be  more 
serenely  beautiful  than  the  clear  star-light  night,  illumined  by  the  brilliant 
inoon,  which  for  days  continually  circles  around  the  horizon,  never  setting  until 


THE    ARCTIC   LAITOS.  33 

she  has  run  her  long  course  of  brightness.  The  uniform  Avhiteness  of  the  land- 
scape and  the  general  transparency  of  the  atmosphere  add  to  the  lustre  of  her 
beams,  which  serve  the  natives  to  guide  their  nomadic  life,  and  to  lead  them 
to  their  hunting-grounds. 

But  of  all  the  magnificent  spectacles  that  relieve  the  monotonous  gloom  of 
the  Arctic  winter,  there  is  none  to  equal  the  magical  beauty  of  the  Aurora. 
Night  covers  the  snow-clad  earth ;  the  stars  glimmer  feebly  thi-ough  the  haze 
which  so  frequently  dims  their  brilliancy  in  the  high  latitudes,  when  suddenly 
a  broad  and  clear  bow  of  light  spans  the  horizon  in  the  direction  where  it  is 
traversed  by  the  magnetic  meridian.  This  bow  sometimes  remains  for  several 
hours,  heaving  or  waving  to  and  fro,  before  it  sends  forth  streams  of  light 
ascending  to  the  zenith.  Sometimes  these  flashes  proceed  from  the  bow  of 
light  alone;  at  others  they  simultaneously  shoot  forth  from  many  opposite 
parts  of  the  horizon,  and  form  a  vast  sea  of  fire  whose  brilliant  waves  are  con- 
tinually changing  their  positit)n.  Finally  they  all  unite  in  a  magnificent  crown 
or  copula  of  light,  with  the  appearance  of  which  the  phenomenon  attains  its 
highest  degree  of  splendor.  The  brilliancy  of  the  streams,  which  are  com- 
monly red  at  their  base,  green  in  the  middle,  and  light  yellow  toward  the 
/enith,  increases,  while  at  the  same  time  they  dart  with  greater  vivacity  through 
the  skies.  The  colors  are  wonderfully  transparent,  the  red  approaching  to  a 
clear  blood-red,  the  green  to  a  pale  emerald  tint.  On  turning  from  the  flaming 
firmament  to  the  earth,  this  also  is  seen  to  glow  with  a  magical  light.  The 
dark  sea,  black  as  jet,  forms  a  striking  contrast  to  the  white  snow-plain  or  the 
distant  ice-mountain ;  all  the  outlines  tremble  as  if  they  belonged  to  the 
unreal  world  of  dreams.  The  imposing  silence  of  the  night  heightens  the 
charms  of  the  magnificent  spectacle. 

But  gradually  the  crown  fades,  the  bow  of  light  dissolves,  the  streams  be- 
come shorter,  less  frequent,  and  less  vivid ;  and  finally  the  gloom  of  winter 
once  more  descends  upon  the  northern  desert. 

3 


34  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


CHx\PTER  II. 

ARCTIC  LAND  QUADRUPEDS  AND  BIRDS. 

The  Reindeer. — Strticture  of  ita  Foot. — Clattering  Noise  when  walking. — Antlers. — Extraordinary 
olfactory  Powers. — The  Icelandic  jNIoss. — Present  and  Former  Range  of  the  Reindeer. — Its  invalu- 
able Qualities  as  an  Arctic  domestic  Animal. — Revolts  against  Oppression. — Enemies  of  the  Rein- 
deer.—The  Wolf.— The  Glutton  or  Wolverine.— Gad-flies.— The  Elk  or  Moose-deer. — The  Musk- 
ox.— The  Wild  Sheep  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.— The  Siberian  Argali.— The  Arctic  Fox.— Its  Bur- 
rows.— The  Lemmings. — Their  Migrations  and  Enemies. — Arctic  Anatidaa. — The  Suow-bunting. — 
The  Lapland  Bunting. — The  Sea-eagle. — Drowned  by  a  Dolphin. 

THE  reindeer  may  Avell  be  called  the  camel  of  the  northern  wastes,  for  it  is 
a  no  less  valuable  companion  to  the  Laplander  or  to  the  Samojede  than  the 
"  ship  of  the  desert"  to  the  wandering  Bedouin.  It  is  the  only  member  of  the 
numerous  deer  family  that  has  been  domesticated  by  man ;  but  though  un- 
doubtedly the  most  useful,  it  is  by  no  means  the  most  comely  of  its  race.  It^ 
clear,  dark  eye  has,  indeed,  a  beautiful  expression,  but  it  has  neither  the  noble 
proportions  of  the  stag  nor  the  grace  of  the  roebuck,  and  its  thick  square-form- 
ed body  is  far  from  being  a  model  of  elegance.  Its  legs  are  short  and  thick, 
its  feet  broad,  but  extremely  well  adapted  for  walking  over  the  snow  or  on  a 
swampy  ground.  The  front  hoofs,  which  are  capable  of  great  lateral  expansion, 
curve  upward,  while  the  two  secondary  ones  behind  (which  are  but  sUghtly 
developed  in  the  fallow  deer  and  other  members  of  the  family)  are  considera- 
bly prolonged  :  a  structure  which,  by  giving  the  animal  a  broader  base  to  stand 
upon,  prevents  it  from  sinking  too  deeply  into  the  snow  or  the  morass.  Had 
the  foot  of  the  reindeer  been  formed  like  that  of  our  stag,  it  would  have  been 
as  unable  to  drag  the  Laplander's  sledge  with  such  velocity  over  the  yielding 
snow-fields  as  the  camel  would  be  to  perform  his  long  marches  through  the 
desert  without  the  broad  elastic  sole-pad  on  which  he  firmly  paces  the  unsta- 
ble sands. 

The  short  legs  and  broad  feet  of  the  reindeer  likewise  enable  it  to  swim  with 
greater  ease — a  power  of  no  small  importance  in  countries  abounding  in  rivers 
and  lakes,  and  where  the  scarcity  of  food  renders  perpetual  migrations  necessa- 
ry. When  the  reindeer  walks  or  merely  moves,  a  remarkable  clattering  sound 
is  heard  to  some  distance,  about  the  cause  of  which  naturalists  and  travellers 
by  no  means  agree.  Most  probably  it  results  from  the  great  length  of  the  two 
digits  of  the  cloven  hoof,  which  when  the  animal  sets  its  foot  upon  the  ground 
separate  widely,  and  when  it  again  raises  its  hoof  suddenly  clap  against  each 
other. 

A  lopg  mane  of  a  dirty  Avhite  color  hangs  from  the  neck  of  the  reindeer.  In 
summer  the  body  is  brown  above  and  white  beneath ;  in  winter,  long-haired 
and  white.  Its  antlers  are  very  different  from  those  of  the  stag,  having  broad 
palmated  summits,  and  branching  back  to  the  length  of  three  or  four  feet. 


QUADRUPEDS  AND   BIRDS. 


35 


1:1 


Mtaiyiiiiii 


Their  weight  is  frequently  very  considerable— twenty  or  twenty-five  pounds ; 
and  it  is  remarkable  that  both  sexes  have  horns,  while  in  all  other  members  of 
tlie  deer  race  the  males  alone  are  in  possession  of  this  ornament  or  weapon. 

The  female  brings  forth  in  May  a  single  calf,  rarely  two.     This  is  small  and 
weak,  but  after  a  few  days  it  follows  the  mother,  who  suckles  her  young  but  a 


36  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

short  time,  as  it  is  soon  able  to  seek  and  to  find  its  food.  The  reindeer  gives 
very  little  milk — at  the  very  utmost,  after  the  young  has  been  Aveaned,  a  bottle- 
ful  daily ;  but  the  quality  is  excellent,  for  it  is  uncommonly  thick  and  nutritious. 
It  consists  almost  entirely  of  cream,  so  that  a  great  deal  of  water  can  be  added 
.before  it  becomes  inferior  to  the  best  cow-milk.  Its  taste  is  excellent,  but  the 
butter  made  from  it  is  rancid,  and  hardly  to  be  eaten,  while  the  cheese  is  very 
good. 

The  only  food  of  the  reindeer  during  winter  consists  of  moss,  and  the  most 
surprising  circumstance  in  his  history  is  the  instinct,  or  the  extraordinary  olfac- 
tory powers,  whereby  he  is  enabled  to  discover  it  when  hidden  beneath  the 
snoAV.  However  deep  the  Lichen  rangiferinus  may  be  buried,  the  animal  is 
aware  of  its  presence  the  moment  he  comes  to  the  spot,  and  this  kind  of  food 
is  never  so  agreeable  to  him  as  when  he  digs  for  it  himself.  In  his  manner  of 
doing  this  he  is  remarkably  adroit.  Having  first  ascertained,  by  thrusting  his 
muzzle  into  the  snow,  Avhether  the  moss  lies  below  or  not,  he  begins  making  a 
hole  with  his  fore  feet,  and  continues  working  until  at  length  he  uncovers  the 
lichen.  No  instance  has  ever  occurred  of  a  reindeer  making  such  a  cavity  with- 
out discovering  the  moss  he  seeks.  In  summer  their  food  is  of  a  different  na- 
ture ;  they  are  then  pastured  upon  green  herbs  or  the  leaves  of  trees.  Judg- 
ing from  the  lichen's  appearance  in  the  hot  months,  when  it  is  dry  and  brittle, 
one  might  easily  wonder  that  so  large  a  quadruped  as  the  reindeer  should 
make  it  his  favorite  food  and  fatten  upon  it ;  but  toward  the  month  of  Septem- 
ber the  lichen  becomes  soft,  tender,  and  damp,  with  a  taste  like  wheat-bran.  In 
this  state  its  luxuriant  and  flowery  ramifications  somewhat  resemble  the  leaves 
of  endive,  and  ai'e  as  white  as  snow. 

Though'  domesticated  since  time  immemorial,  the  reindeer  has  only  partly 
been  brought  under  the  yoke  of  man,  and  wanders  in  large  wild  herds  both  in 
the  North  American  wastes,  where  it  has  never  yet  been  reduced  to  servitude, 
and  in  the  forests  and  tundras  of  the  Old  World. 

In  America,  where  it  is  called  "  caribou,"  it  extends  from  Labrador  to  Mel- 
ville Island  and  Washington  Land ;  ?ii  Europe  and  Asia  it  is  found  from  Lap- 
land and  Norway,  and  from  the  mountains  of  Mongolia  and  the  banks  of  the 
,  Ufa,  as  far  as  Nova  Zembla  and  Spitzbergen.  Many  centuries  ago-— probably 
during  the  glacial  period— its  range  was  still  more  extensive,  as  reindeer  bones 
are  frequently  found  in  French  and  German  caves,  and  bear  testimony  to  the 
severity  of  the  climate  which  at  that  time  reigned  in  Central  Europe ;  for  the 
reindeer  is  a  cold-loving  animal,  and  will  not  thrive  under  a  milder  sky.  All 
attempts  to  prolong  its  life  in  our  zoological  gardens  have  failed,  and  even  iu 
the  royal  park  at  Stockholm  Hogguer  saw  some  of  these  animals,  which  were 
quite  languid  and  emaciated  during  the  summer,  although  care  had  been 
taken  to  provide  them  Avith  a  cool  grotto  to  which  they  could  retire  during  the 
warmer  hours  of  the  day.  In  summer  the  reindeer  can  enjoy  health  only  in  the 
fresh  mountain  air  or  along  the  bracing  sea-shore,  and  has  as  great  a  longing  for 
a,  low  temperature  as  man  for  the  genial  Avarmth  of  his  fireside  in  Avinter. 

The  reindeer  is  easily  tamed,  and  soon  gets  accustomed  to  its  master,  Avhose 
society  it  loves,  attracted  as  it  Avere  by  a  kind  of  innate  sympathy  ;  for,  unlike 


THE  ARCTIC  LANDS.  37 

all  other  domestic  animals,  it  is  by  no  means  dependent  on  man  for  its  subsist- 
ence, but  finds  its  nourishment  alone,  and  wanders  about  freely  in  summer  and 
in  winter  without  ever  being  inclosed  in  a  stable.  These*  qualities  are  inesti- 
mable in  countries  where  it  would  be  utterly  impossible  to  keep  any  domestic 
animal  requiring  shelter  and  stores  of  provisions  during  the  long  winter  months, 
an#  make  the  reindeer  the  fit  companion  of  the  northei'n  nomad,  whose  simple 
wants  it  almost  wholly  supplies.  During  his  wanderings,  it  carries  his  tent  and 
scanty  household  furniture,  or  drags  his  sledge  over  the  snow.  On  account  of  the 
weakness  of  its  back-bone,  it  is  less  fit  for  riding,  and  requires  to  be  mounted  with 
care,  as  a  violent  shock  easily  dislocates  its  vertebral  column  ;  the  saddle  is  placed 
on  the  haunches.  You  would  hardly  suppose  the  reindeer  to  be  the  same  animal 
when  languidly  creeping  along  under  a  rider's  weight,  as  when,  unencumbered 
by  a  load,  it  vaults  with  the  lightness  of  a  bird  over  the  obstacles  in  its  way  to 
obey  the  call  of  its  master.  The  reindeer  can  be  easily  trained  to  drag  a  sledge, 
but  great  care  must  be  taken  not  to  beat  or  otherwise  ill-treat  it,  as  it  then  be- 
comes obstinate,  and  quite  unmanageable.  When  forced  to  drag  too  heavy  a 
load,  or  taxed  in  any  way  above  its  sti-ength,  it  not  seldom  turns  round  upon 
its  tyrant,  and  attacks  him  with  its  horns  and  fore  feet.  To  save  himself  from 
its  fury,  he  is  then  obliged  to  overtm-n  his  sledge,  and  to  seek  a  refuge  under 
its  bottom  until  the  rage  of  the  animal  has  abated. 

After  the  death  of  the  reindeer,  it  may  truly  be  said  that  every  part  of  its 
body  is  put  to  some  use.  The  flesh  is  very  good,  and  the  tongue  and  marrow 
are  considered  a  great  delicacy.  The  blood,  of  which  not  a  drop  is  allowed  to 
be  lost,  is  either  drunk  warm  or  made  up  into  a  kind  of  black  pudding.  The 
skin  furnishes  not  only  clothing  impervious  to  the  cold,  but  tents  and  bedding ; 
and  spoons,  knife-handles,  and  other  household  utensils  are  made  out  of  the 
bones  and  horns ;  the  latter  serve  also,  like  the  claws,  for  the  preparation  of  an 
excellent  glue,  which  the  Chinese,  who  buy  them  for  this  purpose  of  the  Rus- 
sians, use  as  a  nutritious  jelly.  In  Tornea  the  skins  of  new-born  reindeer  are 
prepared  and  sent  to  St.  Petersburg  to  be  manufactured  into  gloves,  which  are 
extremely  soft,  but  very  dear. 

Thus  the  cocoa-nut  palm,  the  tree  of  a  hundred  uses,  hardly  renders  a 
greater  variety  of  services  to  the  islanders  of  the  Indian  Ocean  than  the  rein- 
deer to  the  Laplander  or  the  Samojede  ;  and,  to  the  honor  of  these  barbarians 
be  it  mentioned,  they  treat  their  invaluable  friend  and  com^yanion  with  a  grate- 
ful affection  which  might  serve  as  an  example  to  far  more  civilized  nations. 

The  reindeer  attains  an  age  of  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  years,  but  in  its 
domesticated  state  it  is  generally  killed  when  from  six  to  ten  years  old.  Its 
most  dangerous  enemies  are  the  wolf,  and  the  glutton  or  wolverine  ( Gulo  ho- 
realis  or  «rc«ici<s),  which  belongs  to  the  bloodthirsty  marten  and  weasel  family, 
and  is  said  to  be  of  uncommon  fierceness  and  strength.  It  is  about  the  size 
of  a  large  badger,  between  which  animal  and  the  pole-cat  it  seems  to  be  inter- 
mediate, nearly  resembling  the  former  in  its  general  figure  and  aspect,  and 
agreeing  with  the  latter  as  to  its  dentition.  No  dog  is  capable  of  mastering 
a  glutton,  and  even  the  wolf  is  hardly  able  to  scare  it  from  its  prey.  Its  feet 
are  very  short,  so  that  it  can  not  run  swiftly,  but  it  climbs  Avith  great  facility 


38  TIffi   POLAR  WORLD. 

upon  trees,  or  ascends  even  almost  i^erpendicular  rock-walls,  where  it  also  seeks 
a  refuge  when  pursued. 

When  it  perceives  a  herd  of  reindeer  browsing  near  a  wood  or  a  precipice, 
it  generally  lies  in  wait  upon  a  branch  or  some  high  cliff,  and  springs  down 
upon  the  first  animal  that  comes  vtithin  its  reach.  Sometimes  also  it  steals 
unawares  upon  its  prey,  and  suddenly  bounding  upon  its  back,  kills  it  by  a  #n- 
o-le  bite  in  the  neck.  Many  fables  worthy  of  Munchausen  have  been  told  about  its 
voracity ;  for  instance,  that  it  is  able  to  devour  two  reindeer  at  one  meal,  and 
that,  when  its  stomach  is  exorbitantly  distended  with  food,  it  will  press  itself 
between  two  trees  or  stones  to  make  room  for  a  new  repast.  It  will,  indeed, 
kill  in  one  night  six  or  eight  reindeer,  but  it  contents  itself  with  sucking  their 
blood,  as  the  weasel  does  with  fowls,  and  eats  no  more  at  one  meal  than  any 
other  carnivorous  animal  of  its  own  size. 

Besides  the  attacks  of  its  mightier  enemies,  the  reindeer  is  subject  to  the 
persecutions  of  two  species  of  gad-fly,  which  torment  it  exceedingly.  The 
one  {CEstrus  tarandi),  called  Hurbma  by  the  Laplanders,  deposits  its  glutinous 
eggs  upon  the  animal's  back.  The  larvae,  on  creeping  out,  immediately  bore 
themselves  into  the  skin,  where  by  their  motion  and  suction  they  cause  so 
many  small  swellings  or  boils,  which  gradually  grow  to  the  size  of  an  inch  or 
more  in  diameter,  with  an  opening  at  the  top  of  each,  through  which  the  larvae 
may  be  seen  imbedded  in  a  purulent  fluid.  Frequently  the  whole  back  of  the 
animal  is  covered  with  these  boils,  which,  by  draining  its  fluids,  produce  ema< 
ciation  and  disease.  As  if  aware  of  this  danger,  the  reindeer  runs  wild  and  fu- 
rious as  soon  as  it  hears  the  buzzing  of  the 'fly,  and  seeks  a  refuge  in  the  nearest 
water.  The  other  species  of  gad-fly  ( CEstrus  nasalis)  lays  its  eggs  in  the  nostrils 
of  the  reindeer  ;  and  the  larvffi,  boring  themselves  into  the  fauces  and  beneath  the 
tongue  of  the  poor  animal,  are  a  great  source  of  annoyance,  as  is  shown  by  its 
frequent  sniffling  and  shaking  of  the  head. 

A  pestilential  disorder  like  the  rinderpest  will  sometimes  sweep  away  whole 
herds.  Thus  in  a  few  weeks  a  rich  Laplander  or  Samojede  may  be  reduced  to 
poverty,  and  the  proud  possessor  of  several  thousands  of  reindeer  be  compel- 
led to  seek  the  precarious  livelihood  of  the  northern  fisherman. 

The  elk  or  moose-deer  {Cervus  alces)  is  another  member  of  the  cervine  race 
peculiar  to  the  forests  of  the  north.  In  size  it  is  far  superior  to  the  stag,  but  it 
can  not  boast  of  an  elegant  shape,  the  head  being  disproportionately  large,  the 
neck  short  and  thick,  and  its  immense  horns,  which  sometimes  weigh  near  fifty 
pounds,  each  dilating  almost  immediately  from  the  base  into  a  broad  palmated 
form;  while  its  long  legs,  high  shoulders,  and  heavy  upper  lip  hanging  very 
much  over  the  lower,  give  it  an  uncouth  appearance.  The  color  of  the  elk  is  a 
dark  grayish-brown,  but  much  paler  on  the  legs  and  beneath  the  tail. 

We  owe  the  first  description  of  this  gigantic  deer  to  Julius  Cassar,  in  whose 
time  it  was  still  a  common  inhabitant  of  the  German  forests.  But  the  conquer- 
or of  Gaul  can  hardly  have  seen  it  himself,  or  he  would  not  have  ascribed  to  it 
a  single  horn,  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  forehead,  or  said  that  both  sexes  are 
perfectly  alike,  for  the  female  is  smaller  and  has  no  antlers.  At  present  the 
elk  is  still  found  in  the  swampy  forests  of   East  Prussia,  Lithuania,  and  Po- 


ARCTIC   LAND   QUADRUPEDS  AND   BIRDS. 


40 


THE   POLAR  WORLD. 


land,  but  it  cLiefly  resides  in  the  more  northern  woods  of  Russia,  Siberia, 
and  America.  It  is  a  mild  and  harmless  animal,  principally  supporting  itself 
by  browsing  the  boughs  of  willows,  asps,  service-trees,  and  other  soft  spe- 
cies of  wood.  It  does  not,  like  the  reindeer,  seek  a  refuge  against  the  at- 
tacks of  the  gad-flies,  by  wandering  to  the  coasts  of  the  sea,  or  retreating  to 
the  bare  mountains,  where  it  would  soon  perish  for  the  want  of  adequate  food, 
but  plunges  up  to  the  nose  into  the  next  river,  where  it  finds,  moreover,  a  spe- 
cies of  water-grass  {Festuca  Jluitans)  which  it  Hkes  to  feed  upon.  Though 
naturally  mild  and  harmless,  it  displays  a  high  degree  of  courage,  and  even  fe- 
rocity when  suddenly  attacked  ;  defending  itself  with  great  vigor,  not  only  with 
its  horns,  but  also  by  striking  violently  with  its  fore  feet,  in  the  use  of  which 
it  is  particularly  dexterous.  It  is  generally  caught  in  traps,  as  it  is  extremely 
shy  and  watchful,  and  finds  an  easy  retreat  in  the  swamp  or  the  forest.  The 
only  time  of  the  year  when  it  can  be  easily  chased  is  in  the  spring,  when  the 
softened  snow  gets  covered  during  the  night  with  a  thin  crust  of  ice  which  is 
too  weak  to  bear  the  animal's  weight. 

Though  not  ranging  so  far  north  as  the  reindeer  or  the  elk,  we  find  in  the 
Old  World  the  red-deer  {Cervus  ekqyhus),  in  the  vicinity  of  Drontheim,  in  Nor- 
way, and  along  with  the  roebuck  beyond  Lake  Baikal,  in  Siberia,  while  in 
America  the  large-eared  dieev  {Cervus  macrotis),  and  the  Wapiti,  or  Canada  stag 
{Cervus  strongylo-ceras),  extend  their  excursions  beyond  55°  of  northern  lati- 
tude. The  latter  is  much  larger  and  of  a  stronger  make  than  the  European 
red-deer,  frequently  growing  to  the  height  of  our  tallest  oxen,  and  possessing 
great  activity  as  well  as  strength.  The  flesh  is  little  prized,  but  the  hide,  Avhen 
made  into  leather  after  the  Indian  fashion,  is  said  not  to  turn  hard  in  drying 
after  being  wet— a  quality  which  justly  entitles  it  to  a  preference  over  almost 
every  other  kind  of  leather. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  quadrupeds  of  the  high  northern  regions  is  the 

musk-ox  {Ovibos  moschatus),  which 
by  some  naturalists  has  been  consid- 
ered as  intermediate  between  the 
sheep  and  the  ox.  It  is  about  the 
height  of  a  deer,  but  of  much  stout- 
^/  '^'^  "^^^^^^^^  G1-'  proportions.     The  horns  are  very 

broad  at  the  base,  almost  meeting 
on  the  foi'ehead,  and  curving  down- 
vv^ard  between  the  eye  and  ears  un- 
til about  the  level   of    the    mouth, 
when  they  turn  upward.     Its  long 
thick  brown  or  black  hair  hanging- 
down  below  the  middle  of  the  leg, 
and  covering  on  all  parts  of  the  ani- 
mal a  fine  kind  of  soft  ash-colored 
wool,  which  is  of  the  finest  description,  and  capable  of  forming  the  most  beau- 
tiful fabrics  manufactured,  enables  it  to  remain  even  during  the  winter  beyond 
V0°  of  northern  latitude.     In  spring  it  wanders  over  the  ice  as  far  as  Melville 


ARCTIC  LAND   QUADRUPEDS   AND   BIRDS. 


41 


Island,  or  even  Smith's  Sound,  where  a  number  of  its  bones  were  foupd  by 
Dr.  Kane.  In  September  it  withdraws  more  to  the  south,  and  spends  tlie 
coldest  months  on  the  verge  of  the  forest  region.  Like  the  reindeer,  it  sub- 
sists chiefly  on  lichens  and  grasses.  It  runs  nimbly,  and  climbs  hills  and  rocks 
Avith  great  ease.  Its  fossil  remains,  or  those  of  a  very  analogous  species,  have 
been  discovered  in  Siberia :  at  present  it  is  exclusively  confined  to  the  New 
World. 

In  the  Rocky  Mountains,  from  the  Mexican  Cordillera  plateaux  as  far  as  68° 
N.  lat.,  dwells  the  wild  sheep  ( Ovis  montana),  distinguished  by  the  almost  cir- 
cular bend  of  its  large,  triangular,  transversely  striped  horns,  from  its  relative 


the  Siberian  argali  ( Ovis  argali),  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  parent  of  our  do- 
mestic sheep,  and  far  surpasses  it  in  size  and  delicacy  of  flesh.  Both  the  Amer- 
ican and  the  Asiatic  wild  sheep  are  in  the  highest  degree  active  and  vigorous, 
ascending  abrupt  precipices  with  great  agility,  and,  like  the  wild  goat,  going 
over  the  narrowest  and  most  dangerous  passes  with  perfect  safety. 

Among  the  carnivorous  quadrupeds  of  the  northern  regions,  many,  like  the 
lynx,  the  wolf,  the  bear,  the  glutton,  and  other  members  of  the  weasel  tribe, 
have  their  head-quarters  in  the  forests,  and  only  occasionally  roam  over  the  tun- 


43  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

dras  ;  but  the  Arctic  fox  (  Cams  lagopus)  almost  exclusively  inhabits  the  treeless 
wastes  that  f i-inge  the  Polar  Ocean,  and  is  found  on  almost  all  the  islands  that  lie 
buried  in  its  bosom.  This  pretty  little  creature,  which  in  winter  grows  per- 
fectly white,  knows  how  to  protect  itself  against  the  most  intense  cokl,  either  by 
seeking  a  refuge  in  the  clefts  of  I'ocks,  or  by  burrowing  to  a  considerable  depth 
in  a  sandy  soil.  It  principally  preys  upon  lemmings,  stoats,  polar  hares,  as 
well  as  upon  all  kinds  of  water-fowl  and  their  eggs ;  but  when  pinched  by 
hunger,  it  does  not  disdain  the  carcasses  of  fish,  or  the  molluscs  and  crustaceans 
it  may  chance  to  pick  up  on  the  shore.  Its  enemies  are  the  glutton,  the  snow)'' 
owl,  and  man,  who,  from  the  Equator  to  the  poles,  leaves  no  creature  unmolested 
that  can  in  any  way  satisfy  his  wants. 

The  lemmings,  of  which  there  are  many  species,  are  small  rodents,  peculiar 
to  the  Arctic  regions,  both  in  the  New  and  in  the  Old  World,  where  they  are 
found  as  far  to  the  north  as  vegetation  extends.  They  live  on  grass,  roots,  the 
shoots  of  the  willow,  and  the  dAvarf  birch,  but  chiefly  on  lichens.  They  do  not 
gather  hoards  of  jjrovisions  for  the  winter,  but  live  ujjon  what  they  find  be- 
neath the  snow.  They  seldom  prove  injurious  to  man,  as  the  regions  they  in- 
habit are  generally  situated  beyond  the  limits  of  agriculture.  From  the  voles, 
to  whom  they  are  closely  allied,  they  are  distinguished  by  having  the  foot-sole 
covered  with  stiff  hairs,  and  by  the  strong  crooked  claws  with  which  their  fore 
feet  are  armed.  The  best  known  species  is  the  Norwegian  lemming  {Lemmiis 
norwegicus),  which  is  found  on  the  high  mountains  of  the  Dovrefjeld,  and 
farther  to  the  north  on  the  dry  parts  of  the  tundra,  where  it  inhabits  small 
burrows  under  stones  or  in  the  moss.  Its  long  and  thick  hair  is  of  a  tawny 
color,  and  prettily  marked  with  l^lack  spots.  The  migrations  of  the  lemming 
have  been  grossly  exaggerated  by  Olaus  Magnus  and  Pontoppidan,  to  whom 
the  natural  history  of  the  North  owes  so  many  fables.  As  they  breed  several 
times  in  the  year,  producing  five  or  six  at  a  birth,  they  of  course  multiply  very 
fast  under  favorable  circumstances,  and  are  then  forced  to  leave  the  district 
which  is  no  longer  able  to  afford  them  food.  But  this  takes  place  very  sel- 
dom, for  when  Mr.  Brehm  visited  Scandinavia,  the  people  on  the  Dovrefjeld 
knew  nothing  about  the  migrations  of  the  lemming,  and  his  inq-uiries  on  the 
subject  proved  equally  fruitless  in  Lapland  and  in  Finland.  At  all  events,  it  is 
a  fortunate  circumstance  that  the  lemmings  have  so  many  enemies,  as  their 
rapid  multiplication  might  else  endanger  the  balance  of  existence  in  the  northern 
regions.  The  inclemencies  of  the  climate  are  a  chief  means  for  keeping  them 
in  check.  A  wet  summer,  an  early  cold  and  §nowless  autumn  destroy  them 
by  milhons,  and  then  of  course  years  are  necessary  to  recruit  their  numbers. 
With  the  exception  of  the  bear  and  the  hedgehog,  they  are  pursued  by  all  the 
northern  carnivora.  The  wolf,  the  fox,  the  glutton,  the  marten,  the  ermine 
devour  them  with  avidity,  and  a  good  lemping  season  is  a  time  of  unusual 
plenty  for  the  hungry  Laplander's  dog.  The  snowy  owl,  whose  dense  plumage 
enables  it  to  be  a  constant  resident  on  thQ  tundra,  almost  exclusively  frequents 
those  places  where  lemmings,  its  favorite  food,  are  to  be  found ;  the  buzzards 
are  constantly  active  in  their  destruction ;  the  croAV  feeds  its  young  with  lem- 
mings ;  and  even   the  poor  Lap,  when  pressed  by  hunger,  seizes  a  stick,  and. 


ARCTIC   LAND   QUADRUPEDS   AND   BIRDS. 


43 


for  want  of  better  game,  goes  out  lemming-hunting,  and  rejoices  when  he  can 
kill  a  sufficient  number  for  his  dinner. 

Several  birds,  such  as  the  snowy  owl  and  the  ptarmigan  {Lagopus  alhus), 
which  can  easily  procure  its  food  under  the  snow,  winter  in  the  highest  lati- 
tudes ;  but  by  far  the  greater  number  are  merely  summer  visitants  of  the  Arc- 
tic regions.  After  the  little  bunting,  the  first  arrivals  in  spring  are  the  snow- 
geese,  who  likewise  are  the  first  to  leave  the  dreary  regions  of  the  north  on 
their  southerly  migration.     The  common  and  king  eider-duck,  the  Brent  geese, 


TUE   SNOWY   OWL. 


the  great  northern  black  and  red  throated  divers,  are  the  next  to  make  their 
appearance,  followed  by  the  pintail  and  longtail  ducks  {Aoias  caudacuta  and 
f/lacialis),  the  latest  visitors  of  the  season.  These  birds  generally  take  their 
departure  in  the  same  order  as  they  arrive.  The  period  of  their  stay  is  but 
short,  but  their  presence  imparts  a  wonderfully  cheerful  aspect  to  regions  at 
other  times  so  deserted  and  dreary.  As  soon  as  the  young  are  sufficiently 
fledged,  they  again  betake  themselves  to  the  southward ;  the  character  of  the 
season  much  influencing  the  period  of  their  departure. 

As  far  as  man  has  penetrated,  on  the  most  northern  islets  of  Spitzbergen, 
or  on  the  ice-blocked  shores  of  Kennedy  Channel,  the  eider-duck  and  others 
of  the  Arctic  anatidte  build  their  nests  ;  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
if  the  pole  has  breeding-places  for  them,  it  re-echoes  with  their  cries.  Nor 
need  they  fear  to  plunge  into  the  very  heart  of  the  Arctic  zone,  for  the  flight 
of  a  goose  being  forty  or  fifty  miles  an  hour,  these  birds  may  breed  in  the  re- 
motest northern  solitude,  and  in  a  few  hours,  on  a  fall  of  deep  autumn  snow, 
convey  themselves  by  their  swiftness  of  wing  to  better  feeding-grounds. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  Arctic  birds  is  the  snow-bunting  {Plec- 
trophanes  nivalis),  which  may  properly  be  called  the  polar  singing-bird,  as  it 
breeds  in  the  most  northern  isles,  such  as  Spitzbergen. and  Novaja  Zemlya,  or 


44 


THE   POLAR    WORLD. 


BEKNIDE   GOOSE. 


on  the  highest  mountains  of  the  Dovrefjeld,  in  Scandinavia,  w^here  it  enlivens 
the  fugitive  summer  with  its  short  but  agreeable  notes,  sounding  doubly  sweet 
from  the  treeless  wastes  in  which  they  are  heard.     It  invariably  builds  its 

nest,  which  it  lines  with  feathers  and  down, 
in  the  fissures  of  mountain  rocks  or  under 
large  stones,  and  the  entrance  is  generally 
so  narrow  as  merely  to  allow  the  parent 
birds  to  pass.  The  remarkably  dense  win- 
ter plumage  of  the  snow-bunting  especially 
qualifies  it  for  a  northern  residence,  and 
when  in  captivity  it  will  rather  bear  the 
severest  cold  than  even  a  moderate  degree 
of  warmth.  In  its  breeding-places  it  lives 
almost  exclusively  on  insects,  particularly 
gnats :  during  the  winter  it  feeds  on  all 
sorts  of  seeds,  and  then  famine  frequently  compels  it  to  wander  to  a  less  rig- 
orous climate.  * 

The  Lapland  bunting  {Centrojyhanes  ?a^:>2:)0wzci<s),  whose  white  and  black 
plumage  is  agreeably  diversified  with  red,  is  likewise  an  inhabitant  of  the 
higher  latitudes,  where  it  is  frequently  seen  in  the  barren  grounds  and  tundras. 
Both  these  birds  are  distinguished  by  the  very  long  claw  of  their  hind  toe,  a 
structure  which  enables  them  to  run  about  with  ease  upon  the  snow. 

Among  the  raptorial  birds  of  the  Arctic  regions,  the  sea-eagle  {ITalictiUis 
alhicilla)  holds  a  conspicuous  rank.  At  his  approach  the  gull  and  the  auk 
conceal  themselves  in  the  fissui-es  of  the  rocks,  but  are  frequently  dragged 
forth  by  their  relentless  enemy.  The  divers  are,  according  to  Wahlengi-en, 
more  imperilled,  from  his  attacks  than  those  sea-birds  which  do  not  plunge,  for 
the  latter  rise  into  the  air  as  soon  as  their  piercing  eye  espies  the  universally 
dreaded  tyrant,  and  thus  escape  ;  while  the  former,  blindly  trusting  to  the  ele- 
ment iri  which  they  are  capable  of  finding  a  temporary  refuge,  allow  him  to 

approach,  and  then  suddenly  diving,  fancy' 
themselves  in  safety,  while  the  eagle  is  only 
waiting  for  the  moment  of  their  re-appear- 
ance to  repeat  his  attack.  Twice  or  thrice 
thoy  may  possibly  escape  his  claws  by  a  rapid 
plunge,  but  when  for  the  fourth  time  they 
dive  out  of  the  water,  and  remain  but  one 
instant  above  the  surface,  that  instant  seals 
their  doom.  The  sea-eagle  is  equally  for- 
midable to  the  denizens  of  the  ocean,  but 
sometimes  too  great  a  confidence  in  his 
strength  leads  to  his  destruction,  for  Kitt- 
litz  was  informed  by  the  inhabitants  of  Kam- 
schatka  that,  pouncing  upon  a  dolphin,  he  is 
not  seldom  dragged  down  into  the  water  by  the  diving  cetacean  in  whose  skin 
his  talons  remain  fixed. 


-~    t_. 


*-     f^ 


f-.. 


THE    SEA-EAGl. 


THE   ARCTIC    SEAS. 


45 


ABCTIC   NAVIGATION. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  ARCTIC  SEAS. 
Dangers  peculiar  to  the  Arctic  Sea.— Ice-fields.— Hummocks.— Collision  of  Ice-fields.— Icebergs.— Their 
Origin.-Their  Size.— The  Glaciers  which  give  them  Birth.-Their  Beauty.-Sometimes  useful 
Auxiliaries  to  the  Mariner.— Dangers  of  anchoring  to  a  Berg.— A  crumbling  Berg.— The  Ice-blmk. 
—Fogs.— Transparency  of  the  Atmosphere.— Phenomena  of  Eeflection  and  Refraction.— Causes 
which  prevent  the  Accumulation  of  Polar  Ice.— Tides.— Currents.— Ice  a  bad  Conductor  of  Heat.— 
Wise  Provisions  of  ZSTature. 

THE  heart  of  the  first  navigator,  says  Horace,  must  have  been  shielded  with 
threefold  brass— and  yet  the  poet  knew  but  the  sunny  Mediterranean,  with 
its  tepid  floods  and  smiUng  shores  :  how,  then,  would  he  have  found  words  to 
express  his  astonishment  at  the  intrepid  seamen  who,  to  open  new  vistas  to 
science  or  new  roads  to  commerce,  first  ventured  to  face  the  unknown  terrors 
of  the  Arctic  main  ? 

In  every  part  of  the  ocean  the  mariner  has  to  guard  against  the  perils  of 
hidden  shoals  and  sunken  cliffs,  but  the  high  northern  waters  are  doubly  and 
.  trebly  dangerous ;  for  here,  besides  those  rocks  which  are  firmly  rooted  to  the 
ground,  there  are  others  which,  freely  floating  about,  threaten  to  crush  his  ves- 
sel to  pieces,  or  to  force  it  along  with  them  in  helpless  bondage. 

The  Arctic  navigators  have  given  various  names  to  these  movable  shoals, 


46  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

which  are  the  cause  of  so  much  delay  and  danger.  They  are  icebergs  when  they 
tower  to  a  considerable  height  above  the  waters,  and  ice-fields  ^\\\Qn  they  have  a 
vast  horizontal  extension.  A  floe  is  a  detached  portion  of  a  field  ;  pach-ice,  a 
large  area  of  floes  or  smaller  fragments  closely  driven  together  so  as  to  oppose  a 
firm  barrier  to  the  j^rogress  of  a  ship  ;  and  drift-ice^  loose  ice  in  motion,  but  not 
so  firmly  packed  as  to  prevent  a  vessel  from  making  her  way  through  its  yield- 
ing masses.  . 

The  large  ice-fields  which  the  whaler  encounters  in  Baffin's  Bay,  or  on  the 
seas  between  Spitzbergen  and  Greenland,  constitute  one  of  the  mai'vels  of  the 
deep.  There  is  a  solemn  grandeur  in  the  slow  majestic  motion  with  which 
they  are  drifted  by  the  currents  to  the  south  ;  aild  their  enormous  masses,  as 
mile  after -mile  comes  floating  by,  impress  the  spectator  with  the  idea  of  a 
boundless  extent  and  an  irresistible  power.  But,  vast  and  mighty  as  they  are, 
they  are  unable  to  withstand  the  elements  combined  for  their  destruction,  and 
their  apparently  triumphal  march  leads  them  only  to  their  ruin. 

When  they  first  descend  from  their  northern  strongholds,  thv;  ice  of  which 
they  are  composed  is  of  the  average  thickness  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet,  and 
their  surface  is  sometimes  tolerably  smooth  and  even,  but  in  general  it  is  cov- 
ered with  numberless  ice-blocks  or  huimuocks  piled  upon  each  other  in  wild  con- 


''^' 


~m^ 


AMONG  HUMMOCKS. 


fusion  to  a  height  of  forty  or  fifty  feet,  the  result  of  repeated  collisions  before 
flakes  and  floes  were  soldered  into  fields.  Before  the  end  of  June  they  are  cov- 
ered with  snow,  sometimes  six  feet  deep,  which  melting  during  the  summer 
forms  small  ponds  or  lakes  upon  their  surface. 


THE   ARCTIC   SEAS. 


47 


IX^M 


DRIFTING   IN   THE   ICE. 


Not  seldom  ice-fields  are  whirled  about  in  rotatory  motion,  which  causes 
their  circumference  to  gyrate  with  a  velocity  of  several  miles  per  hour.  When 
a  field  thus  sweeping  through  the  waters  comes  into  collision  with  another 


FOKMS   OF   ICEBEKGS. 


48 


THE  POLAE  WORLD. 


FORMS   OF   ICEBERGS. 


be  utterly  unable  to  resist  their  power. 


which  may  posaibly  be  revolving  >vith  equal  rapidity  in  an  opposite  direction 
— when  masses  not  seldom  twenty  or  thirty  miles  in  diamater,  and  each  weigh- 
ing many  millions  of  tons,  clash  to- 
gether, imagination  can  hardly  con- 
ceive a  more  appalling  scene.  The 
whalers  at  all  times  require  unremit- 
ting vigilance  to  secure  their  safety, 
but  scarcely  in  any  situation  so  much 
as  when  navigating  amidst  these 
fields,  which  are  more  particularly 
dangerous  in  foggy  weather,  as  their 
motions  can  not  then  be  distinctly  ob- 
served. No  wonder  that  since  the 
establishment  of  the  fishery  numbers 
of  vessels  have  been  crushed  to  pieces 
between  two  fields  in  i^jotion,  for  the 
strongest  ship  ever  built  must  needs 
Some  have  been  ujilifted  and  thrown 
upon  the  ice ;  some  have  had  their  hulls  completely  torn  open ;  and  others 
have  been  overrun  by  the  ice,  and  buried  beneath  the  fragments  piled  upon 
their  wreck. 

The  icebei'gs,  which,  as  their  name  , 

indicates,  rise  above  the  water  to  a  J7^  3-r"-.—  ==_  . 

much  more  considerable  height  than 

the  ice-fields,  have  a  very  different  or-  ^ 

igin,  as  they  are  not  formed  in  the  J^ 

sea  itself,  but  by  the  glaciers  of  the 
northern   highlands.      As  our  rivers 

are  continually  i:)Ouring  their  streams        "  ,^,     ?:^ 

into  the  ocean,  so  many  of  the  gla-       "-  0 

ciers  or  ice-rivers  of  the  Arctic  zone,         -_  ^ 

descending  to  the  water-edge,  are 
sloAvly  but  constantly  forcing  them- 
selves farther  and   farther   into   the 

sea.     In  the   summer   season,   when        ^  -^  ^ 

the  ice  is  particularly  fragile,  the 
force  of  cohesion  is  often  overcome 
by  the  weight  of  the  prodigious  mass- 
es that  overhang  the  sea  or  have  been 
undermined  by  its  waters  ;  and  in  the 
winter,  when  the  air  is  probably  40° 
or  50°  below  zero  and  the  sea  from 
28°  to  30°  above,  the  unequal  expan- 
sion of  those  i:)arts  of  the  mass  ex- 
posed to  so  great  a  difference  of  temperature  can  not  fail  to  produce  tlie  sep- 
aration of  large  portions. 


m 


FORMS  OF  ICEBERGS. 


TPIE   ARCTIC   SEAS. 


49 


Most  of  these  swimming  glacier-fragments,  or  icebergs,  which  are  met  willi 
by  the  Avhaler  in  the  Northern  Atlantic,  are  formed  on  the  mountainous  west 
coast  of  Greenland  by  the  large  glaciers  which  discharge  themselves  into  the 
fiords  from  Smith's  Sound  to  Disco  Bay,  as  here  the  sea  is  sufficiently  deep  to 
float  them  away,  in  S2)ite  of  the  enormous  magnitude  they  frequently  attain. 
As  they  drift  along  down  Baffin's  Bay  and  Davis's  Strait,  they  not  seldom'  run 


ICEBERGS  AGROUNX>. 


aground  on  some  shallow  shore,  where,  bidding  defiance  to  the  short  summer, 
they  frequently-remain  for  many  a  year. 

Dr.  Hayes  measured  an  immense  iceberg  which  had  stranded  off  the  little 
harbor  of  Tessuissak,  to  the  north  of  Melville  Bay.  The  square  wall  which 
faced  toward  his  base  of  measurement  Avas  315  feet  high,  and  a  fraction  over 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  long.  Being  almost  square-sided  above  the  sea,  the 
same  shape  must  have  extended  beneath  it ;  and  since,  by  measurements  made 
two  days  before,  Hayes  had  discovered  that  fresh-water  ice  floating  in  salt  wa- 
ter has  above  the  surface  to  below  it  the  proportion  of  one  to  seven,  this  crys- 
.  tallized  mountain  must  have  gone  aground  in  a  depth  of  nearly  half  a  mile,     A 

4 


50  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

ruJe  estimate  of  its  size,  made  on  the  spot,  gave  in  cubical  contents  about  27,000 
millions  of  feet,  and  in  weight  something  like  2000  millions  of  tons  ! 

Captain  Ross  in  his  first  voyage  mentions  another  of  these  wrecked  bergs, 
which  was  found  to  be  4169  yards  long,  3689  yards  broad,  and  51  feet  high 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  It  was  aground  in  61  fathoms,  and  its  weight  was 
estimated  by  an  officer  of  the  "  Alexander"  at  1,292,397,673  tons.  On  ascend- 
ing the  flat  top  of  this  iceberg,  it  was  found  occupied  by  a  huge  white  bear, 
who  justly  deeming  "  discretion  the  best  part  of  valor,"  sprang  into  the  sea  be- 
fore he  could  be  fired  at.  : 

The  vast  dimensions  of  the  icebergs  appear  less  astonishing  when  we  con- 
sider that  many  of  the  glaciers  or  ice-rivers  from  which  they  are  dislodged  are 
equal  in  size  or  volume  to  the  largest  streams  of  continental  Europe.      . 

Thus  one  of  the  eight  glaciers  existing  in  the  district  of  Omenak,  in  Green- 
land, is  no  less  than  an  English  mile  broad,  and  forms  an  ice-wall  rising  160 
feet  above  the  sea.  Further  to  the  north,  Melville  Bay  and  Whale  Sound  are 
the  seat  of  vast  ice-rivers.  Here  Tyndall  glacier  forms  a  coast-line  of  ice  over 
two  miles  long,  almost  burying  its  face  in  the  sea,  and  carrying  the  eye  along  a 
broad  and  winding  valley,  up  steps  of  ice  of  giant  height,  until  at  length  the 
slope  loses  itself  in  the  miknown  ice-desert  beyond.  But  grand  above  all  is  the 
magnificent  Humboldt  glacier,  which,  connecting  Greenland  and  Washington 
Land,  forms  a  sohd  glassy  wall  300  feet  above  the  water-level,  with  an  unknown 
depth  below  it,  while  its  curved  face  extends  full  sixty  miles  in  length  fi-om 
Cape  Agassiz  to  Cape  Forbes.  In  the  temperate  zone  it  would  be  one  of  the 
mightiest  rivers  of  the  earth ;  here,  in  the  frozen  solitudes  of  the  North,  it  slow- 
ly drops  its  vast  fragments  into  the  waters,  making  the  solitudes  around  re-echo 
with  their  fall. 

As  the  Polar  shores  of  continental  America  and  Siberia  are  generally  flat, 
and  below  the  snow-line,  they  are  consequently  deprived  both  of  glaciers  and 
of  the  huge  floating  masses  to  which  these  give  birth. 

In  a  high  sea  the  waves  beat  against  an  iceberg  as  against  a  rock ;  and  in 
calm  weather  where  there  is  a  swell,  the  noise  made  by  their  rising  and  falling 
is  tremendous.  Their  usual  form  is  that  of  a  high,  vertical  wall,  gradually 
sloping  down  to  the  opposite  side,  which  is  very  low ;  but  frequently  they  ex- 
hibit tie  most  fantastic  shapes,  particularly  after  they  have  been  a  long  time 
exposed  to  the  corroding  power  of  the  waves,  or  of  warm  rains  pelting  them 
from  above.  » 

A'number  of  icebergs  floating  in  the  sea  is  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
spectacles  of  nature,  but  the  wonderful  beauty  of  these  crystal  cliffs  never  ap- 
pears to  greater  advantage  than  when  clothed  by  the  midnight  sun  with  all  the 
splendid  colors  of  twilight. 

"  The  bergs,""  says  Dr.  Hayes,  describing  one  of  these  enchanting  nights, 
"  had  wholly  lost  their  chilly  aspect,  and  glittering  in  the  blaze  of  the  brilliant 
heavens,  seemed  in  the  distance  like  masses  of  burnished  metal  or  solid  flame. 
IN'earer  at  hand  they  were  huge  blocks  of  Parian  marble  inlaid  with  mammoth 
gems  of  pearl  and  opal.  One  in  particular  exhibited  the  perfection  of  the 
grand.     Its  form  was  not  unlike  that  of  the  Colosseum,  and  it  lay  so  far  away 


THE   ARCTIC    SEAS. 


1 


Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 


that  hcaif  its  height  was  buried  beneatli  the  line  of  blood-red  waters.  The  sun, 
slowly  rolling  along  the  horizon,  passed  behind  it,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the 
old  Roman  ruins  had  suddenly  taken  fire.  In  the  shadow  of  the  bergs  the 
water  was  a  rich  green,  and  nothing  could  be  more  soft  and  tender  than  the 
gradations  of  color  made  by  the  sea  shoaling  on  the  sloping  tongue  of  a  bero- 


52 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


GLVCinK,  BLTE   INLET. 


close  beside  us.  The  tint  increased  in  intensity  where  the  ice  overhnng  the 
water,  and  a  deep  cavern  near  by  exhibited  the  solid  color  of  the  malachite  min- 
gled with  the  transparency  of  the  emerald,  while  in  strange  contrast  a  broad 
streak  of  cobalt  blue  ran  diagonally  through  its  body.  The  bewitching  charac- 
ter of  the  scene  was  heightened  by  a  thousand  little  cascades  which  leaped  into 
the  sea  from  these  floating  masses,  the  water  being  discharged  from  lakes  of  melt- 
ed snow  and  ice  which  reposed  in  quietude  far  up  in  the  valleys  separating  the 
high  icy  hills  of  their  upper  surface.  From  other  bergs  large  pieces  were  now 
and  then  detached,  plunging  down  into  the  Avater  with  deafening  noise,  while 
the  slow  moving  swell  of  the  ocean  resounded  through  their  broken  archways." 

A  similar  gorgeous  spectacle  was  witnessed  by  Dr.  Kane  in  Melville  Bay. 
The  midnight  sun  came  ovtt  over  a  great  berg,  kindling  variously-colored  fires 
on  every  part  of  its  surface,  and  making  the  ice  around  the  ship  one  great  re- 
splendency of  gem  work,  blazing  carbuncles  and  rubies,  and  molten  gold. 

In  the  night  the  icebergs  are  readily  distinguished  even  at  a  distance  by 
their  natural  effulgence,  and  in  foggy  weather  by  a  peculiar  blackness  in  the 
atmosphere.  As  they  are  not  unfrequently  drifted  by  the  Greenland  stream 
considerably  to  the  south  of  Newfoundland,  sometimes  even  as  far  as  the  for- 
tieth or  thirty-ninth  degree  of  latitude  (May,  1841,  June,  1842),  ships  sailing 
through  the  north-western  Atlantic  require  to  be  always  on  their  guard  against 
them.  The  ill-fated  "  President,"  one  of  our  first  ocean-steamers,  which  was 
lost  on  its  Avay  to  New  York,  without  leaving  a  trace  behind,  is  supposed  to 
liave  been  sunk  by  a  collision  with  an  iceberg,  and  no  doubt  many  a  gallant 
liark  has  either  foundered  in  the  night,  or  been  hurled  by  the  storm  against 
these  floating  rocks. 


THE  ARCTIC   SEAS. 


53 


But  though  often  dangerous  neighbors,  the  bergs  occasionally  prove  useful 
auxiliaries  to  the  mariner.  From  their  greater  bulk  lying  below  the  water- 
line,  they  are  either  drifted  along  by  the  under-current  against  the  wind,  or, 
from  their  vast  dimensions,  are  not  perceptibly  influenced  even  by  the  strongest 
gale,  but,  on  the  contrary,  have  the  appearance  of  moving  to  windward,  because 
every  other  kind  of  ice  is  drifted  rapidly  past  them.  Thus  in  strong  adverse 
winds,  their  broad  masses,  fronting  the  storm  like  bulwarks,  not  seldom  afford 
protecti'on  to  ships  mooring  under  their  lee. 

Anchoring  to  a  berg  is,  however,  not  always  unattended  with  danger,  par- 
ticularly when  the  summer  is  fai-  advanced,  or  in  a  lower  latitude,  as  all  ice  be- 
comes exceedingly  fragile  when  acted  on  by  the  sun  or  by  a  temperate  atmos- 


SCALING  AN   ICEBEKGr. 


phere.  The  blow  of  an  axe  then  sometimes  suffices  to  rend  an  iceberg  asunder, 
and  to  bury  the  careless  seaman  beneath  its  ruins,  or  to  hurl  him  into  the  yawn- 
ing chasm. 

Thus  Scoresby  relates  the  adventure  of  two  sailors  who  were  attempting  to 
fix  an  anchor  to  a  berg.  They  began  to  hew  a  hole  into  the  ice,  but  scai-cely 
had  the  first  blow  been  struck,  when  suddenly  the  immense  mass  split  from  top 
to  bottom  and  fell  asunder,  the  two  halves  falling  in  contrary  directions  with  a 
prodigious  crash.  One  of  the  sailors,  who  was  possessed  of  great  presence  of 
mind,  immediately  scaled  the  huge  fragment  on  which  he  was  standing,  and 
remained  rocking  to  and  fro  on  its  summit  until  its  equilibrium  was  restored ; 
but  his  companion,  falling  between  the  masses,  would  most  likely  have  been 
crushed  to  pieces  if  the  current  caused  by  their  motion  had  not  swept  him 
within  reach  of  the  boat  that  was  waiting  for  them. 

Frequently  "large  pieces  detach  themselves  spontaneously  from  an  iceberg 


54  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

aiul  fall  into  the  sea  with  a  tremendous  noise.  When  this  circumstance,  callecl 
"  calvhig,"  takes  place,  the  iceberg  loses  its  equilibrium,  sometimes  turns  on 
one  side,  and  is  occasionally  inverted. 

Dr.  Hayes  witnessed  the  crumbling  of  an  immense  berg,  resembling  in  its 
general  appearance  the  Bi-itish  House  of  Parliament.  First  one  lofty  tower 
came  tumbling  into  the  Avater,  starting  from  its  surface  an  immense  flock  of 
gulls ;  then  another  followed ;  and  at  length,  after  five  hours  of  rolling  and 
crashing,  there  remained  of  this  splendid  mass  of  congelation  not  a  fragment 
that  rose  fifty  feet  above  the  water. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  phenomena  of  the  Polar  Sea  is  the  ice-blink,  or 
reflection  of  the  ice  against  the  sky.  A  stripe  of  light,  similar  to  the  early 
dawn  of  morning,  but  without  its  redness,  appears  above  the  horizon,  and  traces 
a  complete  aerial  map  of  the  ice  to  a  distance  of  many  miles  beyond  the  ordi- 
nary reach  of  vision.  To  the  experienced  navigator  the  "  blink  "  is  frequently 
of  the  greatest  use,  as  it  not  only  points  out  the  vicinity  of  the  drift-ice,  but 
indicates  its  nature,  Avhether  compact  or  loose,  continuous  or  open.  Thus 
Scoresby  relates  that  on  the  Tth  of  June,  1821,  he  saw  so  distinct  an  ice-blink, 
that  as  far  as  twenty  or  thirty  miles  all  round  the  liorizon  he  was  able  to  ascer- 
tain the  figure  and  probable  extent  of  each  ice-field.  The  packed  ice  was  dis- 
tinguished from  the  larger  fields  by  a  more  obscure  and  yellow  color ;  Avhile 
each  water-lane  or  open  passage  was  indicated  by  a  deep  blue  stripe  or  patch. 
By  this  means  he  Avas  enabled  to  find  his  way  out  of  the  vast  masses  of  ice  in 
which  he  had  been  detained  for  several  days,  and  to  emerge  into  the  open  sea. 

The  tendency  of  the  pack-ice  to  separate  in  calm  Aveather,  so  that  one  might 
almost  be  tempted  to  believe  in  a  mutual  repulsive  power  of  the  individual 
blocks,  is  likewise  favorable  to  the  Arctic  navigator.  The  perpetual  daylight 
of  summer  is  another  advantage,  but  unfortunately  the  sun  is  too  often  veiled 
by  dense  mists,  Avhich  frequently  obscure  the  air  for  weeks  together,  particular- 
ly in  July.  These  fogs,  Avhich  are  a  great  impediment  to  the  whaler's  opera- 
tions, have  a  very  depressing  influence  upon  the  spirits ;  and  as  they  are  at- 
tended Avith  a  loAv  temperature,  AA'hich  even  at  noon  does  not  rise  much  above 
freezing-point,  the  damp  cold  is  also  physically  extremely  unpleasant. 

At  other  times  the  sun  SAveeps  two  or  three  times  round  the  pole  without 
being  for  a  moment  obscured  by  a  cloud,  and  then  the  transparency  of  the  air 
is  such  that  objects  the  most  remote  may  be  seen  perfectly  distinct  and  clear, 
A  ship's  top-gallant  mast,  at  the  distance  of  five  or  six  leagues,  may  be  discern- 
ed Avhen  just  appearing  aboA-e  the  horizon  Avith  a  common  perspective-glass, 
and  the  summits  of  mountains  are  visible  at  the  distance  of  from  sixty  to  a 
hundred  miles. 

On  such  sunny  days,  the  strong  contrasts  of  light  and  shade  between  the 
glistening  snow  and  the  dark  protruding  rocks  produce  a  remarkable  deception 
in  the  apparent  distance  of  the  land,  along  a  steep  mountainous  coast.  When 
at  the  distance  of  tAventy  miles  from  Spitzbergen,  for  instance,  it  Avould  be  easy 
to  induce  CA'en  a  judicious  stranger  to  undertake  a  passage  in  a  boat  to  the 
shore,  from  a  belief  that  he  Avas  Avithin  a  league  of  the  land.  At  this  distance 
the  portions  of  rock  and  patches  of  snoAV,  as  Avell  as  the  contour  of  the  different 


THE   ARCTIC    SEAS.  55 

hills,  are  as  distinctly  marked  as  similar  objects  in  many  other  countries,  not 
having  snow  about  them,  would  be  at  a  fourth  or  a  fifth  part  of  the  distance. 

Nothing  can  be  more  wonderful  than  the  phenomena  of  the  atmosphere  de- 
pendent on  reflection  and  refraction,  which  are  frequently  observed  in  the  Arc- 
tic seas,  particularly  at  the  commencement  or  approach  of  easterly  winds.  They 
are  probably  occasioned  by  the  commixture,  near  the  surface  of  the  land  or  sea, 
of  two  streams  of  air  of  different  temperatures,  so  as  to  occasion  an  irregular 
deposition  of  imperfectly  condensed  vapor,  which  when  passing  the  verge  of  the 
horizon  apparently  raises  the  objects  there  situated  to  a  considerable  distance 
above  it,  or  extends  their,  height  beyond  their  natural  dimensions.  Ice,  land, 
ships,  boats,  and  other  objects,  when  thus  enlarged  and  elevated,  are  said  to 
loom.  The  lower  part  of  looming  objects  are  sometimes  connected  with  the 
horizon  by  an  apparent  fibrous  or  columnar  extension  of  their  parts;  at  other 
times  they  appear  to  be  quite  lifted  into  the  air,  a  void  space  being  seen  between 
them  and  the  horizon. 

A  most  remarkable  delusion  of  this  kind  was  observed  by  Scoresby  while 
sailing  through  the  open  ice,  far  from  land.  Suddenly  an  immense  amphitheatre 
inclosed  by  high  walls  of  basaltic  ice,  so  like  natural  rock  as  to  deceive  one  of 
his  most  experienced  officers,  rose  around  the  ship.  Sometimes  the  refraction 
produced  on  all  sides  a  similar  effect,  but  still  more  frequently  remarkable  con- 
trasts. Single  ice-blocks  expanded  into  architectural  figures  of  an  extraordina- 
ry height,  and  sometimes  the  distant,  deeply  indented  ice-border  looked  like  a 
number  of  towers  or  minarets,  or  like  a  dense  forest  of  naked  trees.  Scarcely 
had  an  object  acquired  a  distinct  form,  when  it  began  to  dissolve  into  another. 

It  is  well  known  that  similar  causes  produce  similar  effects  in  the  warmer 
regions  of  the  earth.  In  the  midst  of  the  tropical  ocean,  the  mariner  sees  ver- 
dant islands  rise  from  the  waters,  and  in  the  treeless  desert  fantastic  palm- 
groves  wave  their  fronds,  as  if  in  mockery  of  the  thirsty  caravan. 

When  we  consider  the  intense  cold  which  reigns  during  the  gi-eatest  part  of 
the  year  in  the  Arctic  regions,  we  might  naturally, expect  to  find  the  Avhole  of 
the  Polar  Sea  covered,  during  the  winter  at  least,  with  one  solid'  unbroken  sheet 
of  ice.  But  experience  teaches  us  that  this  is  by  no  means  the  case ;  for  the 
currents,  the  tides,  the  winds,  and  the  swell  of  a  turbulent  ocean  are  mighty 
causes  of  disruption,  or  strong  impediments  to  congelation.  Both  Lieutenant 
de  Haven  and  Sir  Francis  M'Clintock*  Avere  helplessly  carried  along,  in  the 
depth  of  winter,  by  the  pack-ice  in  Lancaster  Sound  and  Baffin's  Bay.  A 
berg  impelled  by  a  strong  under-current  rips  open  an  ice-field  as  if  it  were  a 
thin  sheet  of  glass  ;  and  in  channels,  or  on  coasts  Avhere  the  tides  rise  to  a  con- 
siderable height,  their  flux  and  reflux  is  continually  opening  crevices  and  lanes 
in  the  ice  which  covers  the  waters.  That  even  in  the  highest  latitudes  the  sea 
does  not  close  except  when  at  rest,  was  fully  experienced  by  Dr.  Hayes  during 
his  wintering  at  Port  Foulke ;  for  at  all  times,  even  when  the  temperatm-e  of 
the  air  was  below  the  freezing-point  of  mercury,  he  could  hear  from  the  deck 
of  his  schooner  the  roar  of  the  beating  waves.  From  all  these  causes  there 
has  at  no  point  within  the  Arctic  Circle  been  found  a  firm  ice-belt  extending, 

*  Soo  Chapter  XXXII. 


56 


THE  POLAR   WORLD. 


AN   ARCTIC    CHANNET.. 


either  in  winter  or  in  summer,  more  than  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  miles  from 
land.  And  even  in  the  narrow  channels  separating  the  islands  of  the  Parry 
Archipelago,  or  at  the  mouth  of  Smith  Sound,  the  waters  will  not  freeze  over, 
except  when  sheltered  by  the  land,  or  when  an  ice-pack,  accumulated  by  long 
continuance  of  winds  from  one  quarter,  affords  the  same  protection. 

But  the  constant  motion  of  the  Polar  Sea,  wherever  it  expands  to  a  consider- 


THE   ARCTIC   SEAS. 


57 


able  breadth,  would  be  insufficient  to  prevent  its  total  congelation,  if  it  were 
not  assisted  by  other  physical  causes.  A  magnificent  system  of  currents  is 
continually  displacing  the  waters  of  the  ocean,  and  forcing  the  warm  floods  of 
the  troi^ical  regions  to  wander  to  the  pole,  while  the  cold  streams  of  the  frigid 
zone  are  as  constantly  migrating  toward  the  Equator.  Thus  we  see  the  Gulf 
Stream  flowing  through  the  broad  gateway  east  of  Spitzbergen,  and  forcing 
out  a  return  current  of  cold  water  to  the  west  of  Spitzbergen,  and  through 
Davis's  Strait. 

The  comparatively  warm  floods  which,  in  consequence  of  this  great  law  of 
cii-culation,  come  pouring  into  the  Arctic  seas,  naturally  require  some  time 
before  they  are  sufficiently  chilled  to  be  converted  into  ice ;  and  as  sea-water 
has  its  maximum  of  density,  or,  in  other  words,  is  heaviest  a  few  degrees  above 
the  freezing-point  of  water,  and  then  necessarily  sinks,  the  whole  depth  of  the 


sea  must  of  course  be  cooled  down  to  that  temperature  before  freezing  can 
take  place.  Ice  being  a  bad  conductor  of  heat,  likewise  limits  the  process  of 
congelation ;  for  after  attaining  a  thickness  of  ten  or  fifteen  feet,  its  growth  is 
very  slow,  and  probably  even  ceases  altogether ;  for  when  floating  fields,  or 
floes,  are  found  of  a  greater  thickness,  this  increase  is  due  to  the  snow  that 
falls  upon  their  surface,  or  to  the  accumulation  of  hummocks  caused  by  their 
collision. 

Thus,  by  the  combined  influence  of  these  various  physical  agencies,  bounds 
have  been  set  to  the  congelation  of  the  Polar  waters.  Were  it  otherwise,  the 
Arctic  lands  would  have  been  mere  uninhabitable  wastes;  for  the  existence  of 
the  seals,  the  Avalrus,  and  the  whale  depends  upon  their  finding  some  open  wa- 
ter at  every  season  of  the  year ;  and  deprived  of  this  resource,  all  the  Esqui- 
maux, whose  various  tribes  fringe-  the  coasts  in  the  highest  latitudes  hitherto 
discovered,  would  perish  in  a  single  Avinter. 

If  the  Arctic  glaciers  did  not  discharge  their  bergs  into  the  sea,  or  if  no 
currents  conveyed  the  ice-floes  of  the  north  into  lower  latitudes,  ice  would  be 


TKE   POLAR  WORLD. 


constantly  accumulating  in  the  Polar  world,  and,  destroying  the  balance  of  na- 
ture, would  ultimately  endanger  the  existence  of  man  over  the  whole  surface 
of  the  globe. 


ARCTIC  MARINE  ANI3LVLS.  59 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ARCTIC  MARINE  ANIMALS^ 

Popiilousness  of  the  Arctic  Seas. —The  Greenland  Whale. —The  Fin  "Whales.  —  The  Narwhal.— 
The  Beluga,  or  White  Dolphin.— The  Black  Dolphin.— His  wholesale  Massacre  on  the  Faeroe  Isl- 
ands.—The  Ore,  or  Grampus.— The  Seals.— The  Walrus.— Its  acute  Smell.— History  of  a  young 
Walrus.— Parental  Affection.— The  Polar  Bear.— His  Sagacity.— Hibernation  of  the  She-bear.— 
Sea-birds. 

THE  vast  multitudes  of  animated  beings  which  people  the  Polar  Seas  form 
a  remarkable  contrast  to  the  nakedness  of  their  bleak  and  desolate  shores. 
The  colder  surface-waters  almost  perpetually  exposed  to  a  chilly  air,  and  fre- 
quently covered,  even  in  summer,  with  floating  ice,  are  indeed  unfavorable  to 
the  development  of  organic  life ;  but  this  adverse  influence  is  modified  by  the 
higher  temperature  which  constantly  prevails  at  a  greater  depth  ;  for,  contrary 
to  what  takes  place  in  the  equatorial  seas,  we  find  in  the  Polar  Ocean  an  in- 
crease of  temperature  from  the  surface  downward,  in  consequence  of  the 
warmer  under-currents,  flowing  from  the  south  northward,  and  passing  be- 
neath the  cold  waters  of  the  superficial  Arctic  current. 

Thus  the  severity  of  the  Polar  winter  remains  unfelt  at  a  greater  depth  of 
the  sea,  where  myriads  of  creatures  find  a  secure  retreat  against  the  frost,  and 
whence  they  emerge  during  the  long  summer's  day,  either  to  line  the  shores  or 
to  ascend  the  broad  rivers  of  the  Arctic  world.  Between  the  parallels  of  74° 
and  80°  Scoresby  observed  that  the  color  of  the  Greenland  sea  varies  from  the 
purest  ultramarine  to  olive  green,  and  from  crystalline  transparency  to  striking 
opacity — appearances  which  are  not  transitory,  but  permanent.  This  green 
semi-opaque  water,  whose  position  varies  with  the  currents,  often  forming  iso- 
lated stripes,  and  sometimes  spreading  over  two  or  three  degrees  of  latitude, 
mainly  owes  its  singular  aspect  to  small  medusae  and  nudibranchiate  molluscs. 
It  is  calculated  to  form  one-fourth  part  of  the  surface  of  the  sea  between  the 
above-mentioned  parallels,  so  that  many  thousands  of  square  miles  are  absolute- 
ly teeming  with  life. 

On  the  coast  of  Greenland,  Avhere  the  waters  are  so  exceedingly  clear  that 
the  bottom  and  every  object  upon  it  are  plainly  visible  even  at  a  depth  of 
eighty  fathoms,  the  ground  is  seen  covered  Avith  gigantic  tangles,  which,  togeth- 
er Avith  the  animal  world  circulating  among  their  fronds,  remind  the  spectator 
of  the  coral-reefs  of  the  tropical  ocean.  KuUipores,  mussels,  alcyonians,  sertu- 
larians,  ascidians,  and  a  variety  of  other  sessile  animals,  incrust  every  stone  or 
fill  every  hollow  or  crevice  of  the  rocky  ground.  A  dead  seal  or  fish  thrown 
iuto  the  sea  is  soon  converted  into  a  skeleton  by  the  myriads  of  small  crustaceans 
which  infest  these  northern  waters,  and,  like  the  ants  in  the  equatorial  forests, 
perform  the  part  of  scavengers  of  the  deep. 


60  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

TIn^s  we  find  an  exuberance  of  life,  in  its  smaller  and  smallest  forms,  peo- 
pling the  Arctic  waters,  and  affording  nourishment  to  a  variety  of  strange  and 
bulky  creatures — cetaceans,  walruses,  and  seals — which  annually  attract  thou- 
sands of  adventurous  seamen  to  the  icy  ocean. 

Of  these  sea-mammalians,  the  most  important  to  civilized  man  is  undoubted- 
ly the  Greenland  whale  {Balcana  mysticetus),  or  smooth-back,  thus  called  from 
its  having  no  dorsal  fin.  Formerly  these  whales  were  harpooned  in  considerable 
numbers  in  the  Icelandic  waters,  or  in  the  fiords  of  Spitzbergen  and  Danish 
Greenland  ;  then  Davis's  otraits  became  the  favorite  fishing-groitnds  ;  and  more 
recently  the  inlets  and  various  channels  to  the  east  of  Baffin's  Bay  have  been 
invaded ;  while,  on  the  opposite  side  of  America,  several  hundreds  of  whalers 
penetrate  every  year  through  Bering's  Straits  into  the  icy  sea  beyond,  where 
previously  they  lived  and  multiplied,  unmolested  except  by  the  Esquimaux. 


TUB   WHALE. 


More  fortunate  than  the  smooth-back,  the  rorquals,  or  fin-whales  {Balanop- 
tera  hoops,  muscidus, p>hy salts,  and  rostratiis),  still  remain  in  their  ancient  seats, 
from,  which  they  are  not  likely  to  be  dislodged,  as  the  agility  of  their  move- 
ments makes  their  capture  more  difficult  and  dangerous  ;  while  at  tlie  same  time 
the  small  quantity  of  their  fat  and  the  shortness  of  their  baleen  render  it  far  less 
remunei'ative.  They  are  of  a  more  slender  form  of  body,  and  Avith  a  more 
pointed  muzzle  than  the  Greenland  whale ;  and  while  the  latter  attains  a  length 
of  only  sixty  feet,  the  Balmnoptera  hoops  grows  to  the  vast  length  of  100  feet 
and  more.  There  is  also  a  difference  in  their  food,  for  the  Greenland  whale 
chiefly  feeds  upon  the  minute  animals  that  crowd  the  olive-colored  waters  above 
described,  or  on  the  hosts  of  little  pteropods  that  are  found  in  many  parts  of 
the  Arctic  seas,  while  the  rorquals  frequently  accompany  the  herring-shoals,  and 
carry  death  and  destruction  into  their  ranks. 

The  seas  of  Novaja  Zemlya,  Spitzbergen,  and  Greenland  ai-e  the  domain  of 
the  narwhal,  or  sea-unicorn,  a  cetacean  quite  as  strange,  but  not  so  fabulous  as 
the  terrestrial  animal  which  figures  in  the  arms  of  Enerland.     The  use  of  the 


ARCTIC  MARINE   ANIMALS.  61 

enormous  spirally  wound  tusk  projecting  from  its  upper  jaw,  and  from  which 
it  derives  its  popular  name,  has  not  yet  been  clearly  ascertained,  some  holding 
it  to  be  an  instrument  of  defense,  a^  hile  others  suppose  it  to  be  only  an  orna- 
ment or  mark  of  the  superior  dignity  of  the  sex  to  which  it  has  been  awarded. 
Among  the  numerous  dolphins  which  people  the  Arctic  and  Subarctic  seas, 
tlie  beluga  {Z>elphinus  leucas),  improperly  called  the  white  whale,  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting.  When  young  it  has  a  brown  color,  Avhich  gradually  changes 
into  a  perfect  white.  It  attains  a  length  of  from  twelve  to  twenty  feet,  has  no 
dorsal  fin,  a  strong  tail  three  feet  broad,  and  a  round  head  with  a  broad  trun- 
cated snout.  Beyond  56°  of  latitude  it  is  frequently  seen  in  large  shoals,  par- 
ticularly near  the  estuaries  of  the  large  Siberian  and  North  American  rivers, 
which  it  often  ascends  to  a  considerable  distance  in  pursuit  of  the  salmon.  A 
troop  of  belugas  diving  out  of  the  dark  waves  of  the  Arctic  Sea  is  said  to  afford 


a  magnificent  spectacle.  Their  white  color  appears  dazzHng,  from  the  con- 
trast of  the  sombre  background,  as  they  dart  about  with  arrow-like  velocity. 

The  black  dolphin  ( Glob  ice])  halus  globicej^s)  is  likewise  very  common  in 
the  Arctic  seas,  both  beyond  Bering's  Straits  and  between  Greenland  and  Spitz- 
bergen,  whence  it  fi-equently  makes  excursions  to  the  south.  It  grows  to  the 
length  of  twenty-four  feet,  and  is  about  ten  feet  in  circumference.  The  skin, 
like  that  of  the  dolphin  tribe  in  general,  is  smooth,  resembling  oiled  silk ;  the 
color  a  bluish-black  on  the  back,  and  generally  whitish  on  the  belly ;  the  blub- 
ber is  three  or  four  inches  thick. 

The  full-grown  have  generally  twenty-two  or  twenty-four  teeth  in  each  jaw ; 
and  when  the  mouth  is  shut,  the  teeth  lock  between  one  another,  like  the  teeth 
of  a  trap.  The  dorsal  fin  is  about  fifteen  inches  high, the  tail  five  feet  broad; 
the  pectoral  fins  are  as  many,  long  and  comparatively  narrow ;  so  that,  armed 
with  such  excellent  paddles,  the  black  dolphin  is  inferior  to  none  of  his  relatives 
in  swiftness.  Of  an  eminently  social  disposition,  these  dolphins  sometimes  con- 
gregate in  herds  of  many  hundreds,  under  the  guidance  of  several  old  experi- 


62  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

euced  males,  whom  the  rest  follow  like  a  flock  of  sheep — a  property  from  which 
the  animal  is  called  in  Shetland  the  "  ca'ing  whale."  No  cetacean  strands  more 
frequently  than  the  black  dolphin,  and  occasionally  large  herds  have  been  driven 
on  the  shores  of  Iceland,  Norway,  and  the  Orkney,  Shetland  and  Faeroe  islands, 
where  their  capture  is  hailed  as  a  godsend.  The  intelligence  that  a  shoal  of 
ca'ing  whales  or  grinds  has  been  seen  approaching  the  coast,  creates  great  ex- 
citement among  the  otherwise  phlegmatic  inhabitants  of  the  Faeroe  Islands. 
The  whole  neighborhood,  old  and  young,  is  instantly  in  motion,  and  soon  numer- 
ous boats  shoot  off  from  shore  to  intercept  the  retreat  of  the  dolphins.  Slowly 
and  steadily  they  are  driven  toward  the  coast;  the  phalanx  of  their  enemies 
draws  closer  and  closer  together ;  terrified  by  stones  and  blows,  they  run  ashore, 
and  lie  gasping  as  the  flood  recedes.  Then  begins  the  work  of  death,  amid  the 
loud  shouts  of  the  executioners  and  the  furious  splashings  of  the  victims.  In 
this  manner  more  than  800  grinds  were  massacred  on  August  16,1776;  and 
during  the  four  summer  months  tliat  Langbye  sojourned  on  the  island  in  1817, 
62:3  were  driven  on  shore,  and  served  to  pay  one-half  of  the  imported  corn. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  many  years  frequently  pass  Avithout  yielding  one  single 
black  whale  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  islanders. 

The  ferocious  ore,  or  grampus  {Del^j/iinus  orca),  is  the  tiger  of  the  Arctic 
seas.  Black  above,  white  beneath,  it  is  distinguished  by»  its  large  dorsal  fin, 
which  curves  backward  toward  the  tail,  and  rises  to  the  height  of  two  feet  or 
more.  Measuring  no  less  than  twenty -five  feet  in  length  and  twelve  or  thirteen 
in  girth,  of  a  courage  equal  to  its  strength,  and  armed  with  formidable  teeth, 
thirty  in  each  jaw,  the  grampus  is  the  dread  of" the  seals,  whom  it  overtakes  in 
spite  of  their  rapid  flight ;  and  the  Avhale  himself  would  consider  it  as  his  most 
formidable  enemy,  were  it  not  for  the  persecutions  of  man.  The  gi-ampiis  gen- 
erally ploughs  the  seas  in  small  troops  of  four  or  five,  following  each  other  in 
close  single  file,  and  alternately  disappearing  and  rising  so  as  to  resemble  the 
undulatory  motions  of  one  large  serpentiform  animal. 

The  family  of  the  seals  has  also  numerous  and  mighty  representatives  in  the 
Arctic  waters.  In  the  sea  of  Bering  we  meet  with  the  formidable  sea  lion  and 
the  valuable  sea-bear,  while  the  harp-seal,  the  bearded  seal,  and  the  hispid  seals 
{Phoca  groenlancUca,  hcn'hata,  hispida),  spreading  from  the  Parry  Islands  to 
Novaja  Zemlya,  yield  the  tribute  of  their  flesh  to  numerous  wild  tribes,  and 
that  of  their  skins  to  the  European  hunter. 

Few  Arctic  animals  are  more  valuable  to  man,  or  more  frequently  mentioned 
in  Polar  voyages  than  the  walrus  or  morse  {Trichechus  rosmari(s),vs\nc\\, 
though  allied  to  the  seals,  differs  greatly  from  them  by  the  development  of  the 
canines  of  the  upper  jaw,  which  form  two  enormous  tusks  projecting  down- 
ward to  the  length  of  two  feet.  The  morse  is  one  of  the  largest  quadi-upeds  ex- 
isting, as  it  attains  a  length  of  twenty  feet,  and  a  weight  of  from  fifteen  hundred 
to  two  thousand  pounds.  In  uncouthness  of  form  it  surpasses  even  the  ungain- 
ly hippopotamus.  It  has  a  small  head  with  a  remarkably  thick  upper  lip,  cov- 
ered with  large  pellucid  whiskers  or  bristles  ;  the  neck  is  thick  and  short ;  the 
naked  gray  or  red-brown  skin  hangs  loosely  on  the  ponderous  and  elongated 
trunk ;  and  the  short  feet  terminate  in  broad  fin-like  paddles,  resembling  large 


ARCTIC  MAKINE  ANIJMALS. 


63 


ill-fasliioued  flaps  of  leather.  Its  movements  on  land  are  extremely  slow  and 
awkward,  resembling  those  of  a  huge  caterpillar,  but  in  the  water  it  has  all  the 
activity  of  the  seals,  or  even  surpasses  them  in  speed. 


1 11  ffliniiif  irri'iiiiiiiiiiii  i 


T?| 


|(iiKji ij!i||jl 


Gregarious,  like  the  seals  and  many  of  the  dolphins,  the  Avalruses  love  to  lie 
on  the  Tee  or  on  the  sand-banks,  closely  huddled  together.     On  the  spot  where 


64  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

a  wah'us  lands,  others  are  sure  to  follow ;  and  when  the  first  comers  block  the 
shore,  those  which  arrive  later,  instead  of  landing  on  a  free  spot  farther  on, 
prefer  giving  their  friends  who  are  in  the  way  a  gentle  push  with  their  tusks 
so  as  to  induce  them  to  make  room. 

Timorous  and  almost  helpless  on  land,  where,  in  spite  of  its  formidable 
tusks,  it  falls  an  easy  prey  to  the  attacks  of  man,  the  Avalrus  evinces  a  greater 
degree  of  courage  in  the  water,  where  it  is  able  to  make  a  better  use  of  the 
strength  and  weapons  bestowed  upon  it  by  nature.  Many  instances  are  known 
where  walruses,  which  never  attack  but  when  provoked,  have  turned  upon  their 
assailants,  or  have  even  assembled  from  a  distance  to  assist  a  wounded  com- 
rade. 

Like  the  seals,  the  walrus  is  easily  tamed,  and  of  a  most  affectionate  temper. 
This  was  shown  in  a  remarkable  manner  by  a  young  walrus  brought  alive  from 
Archangel  to  St.  Petersburg  in  1829.  Its  keeper,  Madame  Dennebecq,  having 
tended  it  with  the  greatest  care,  the  grateful  animal  expressed  its  pleasure 
whenever  she  came  near  it  by  an  affectionate  grunt.  It  not  only  followed  her 
with  its  eyes,  but  was  never  happier  than  when  allowed  to  lay  its  head  in  her 
lap.  The  tenderness  was  reciprocal,  and  Madame  Dennebecq  used  to  .talk  of 
her  walrus  with  the  same  warmth  of  affection  as  if  it  had  been  a  pet  lapdog. 

That  parental  love  should  be  highly  developed  in  animals  thus  susceptible 
of  friendship  may  easily  be  imagined.  Mr.  Lamont,  an  English  gentleman 
whom  tlie  love  of  sport  led  a  few  years  since  to  Spitzbergen,  relates  the  case  of 
a  wounded  walrus  who  held  a  very  young  calf  under  lier  riglit  arm.  When- 
ever the  harpoon  was  raised  against  it,  the  mother  carefully  shielded  it  with 
lier  own  body.  The  countenance  of  this  poor  animal  was  never  to  be  forgot- 
ten :  that  of  the  calf  expressive  of  abject  terror,  and  yet  of  such  a  boundless 
confidence  in  its  mother's  power  of  protecting  it,  as  it  swam  along  under  her 
wing,  and  the  old  cow's  face  showing  such  reckless  defiance  for  all  that  could 
be  done  to  ]ierself,and  yet  such  terrible  anxiety  as  to  the  safety  of  her  calf. 
This  parental  affection  is  shamefully  misused  by  man,  for  it  is  a  common 
artifice  of  the  walrus-hunters  to  catch  a  young  animal  and  make  it  grunt,  in 
order  to  attract  a  herd. 

The  walrus  is  confined  to  the  coasts  of  the  Arctic  regions,  unless  when  drift- 
ice,  or  some  other  accident,  carries  it  away  into  the  open  sea.  Its  chief  resorts 
are  Spitzbergen,  Nova  Zembla,  North  Greenland,  the  shores  of  Hudson's  and 
Baflin's  bays ;  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Polar  Ocean,  the  coasts  of  Ber- 
ing's Sea,  and  to  the  north  of  Bering's  Straits,  the  American  and  Asiatic  shores 
from  Point  Barrow  to  Cape  North.  It  has  nowhere  been  found  on  the  coasts 
of  Siberia  from  the  mouth  of  the  Jenisei  to  the  last-mentioned  promontory, 
and  on  those  of  America  from  Point  Barrow  to  Lancaster  Sound ;  so  that  it 
inhabits  two  distinct  regions,  separated  from  each  other  by  v^ast  extents  of 
coast.  Its  food  seems  to  consist  principally  of  marine  plants  and  shell-fish, 
though  Scoresby  relates  that  he  found  the  remains  of  fishes,  or  even  of  seals,  in 
its  stomach. 

As  the  Polar  bear  is  frequently  found  above  a  hundred  miles  from  the  near- 
est land,  upon  loose  ice  steadily  drifting  into  the  sea,  it  seems  but  fair  to  assign 


ARCTIC  MARINE  ANIMALS.  65 

him  a  place  among  the  marine  animals  of  the  Arctic  zone.  He  hunts  by  scent, 
and  is  constantly  running  across  and  against  the  wind,  which  prevails  from  the 
northward,  so  that  the  same  instinct  which  directs  his  search  for  prey  also 
serves  the  important  purpose  of  guiding  him  in  the  direction  of  the  land  and 
more  solid  ice.  His  favorite  food  is  the  seal,  Avhich  he  surprises  crouching 
down  with  his  fore  paws  doubled  underneath,  and  pushing  himself  noiselessly 
forward  with  his  hinder  legs  until  within  a  few  yards,  when  he  springs  upon 
his  victim,  whether  in  the  water  or  upon  the  ice.  He  can  SAvim  at  the  rate  of 
three  miles  an  hour,  and  can  dive  to  a  considerable  distance.  Though  he  at- 
tacks man  when  hungry,  wounded,  or  provoked,  he  will  not  injure  him  when 
food  more  to  his  liking  is  at  hand.  Sir  Francis  M'Clintock  relates  an  anecdote 
of  a  native  of  Upernavik  who  was  out  one  dark  winter's  day  visiting  his  seal- 
nets.  He  found  a  seal  entangled,  and  whilst  kneeling  down  over  it  upon  the 
ice  to  get  it  clear,  he  received  a  slap  on  the  back — from  his  companion  as  he 
supposed ;  but  a  second  and  heavier  blow  made  him  look  smartly  round.  He 
was  horror-stricken  to  see  a  peculiarly  grim  old  bear  instead  of  his  comrade. 
Without  taking  further  notice  of  the  man,  Bruin  tore  the  seal  out  of  the  net, 
and  began  his  supper.  He  was  not  interrupted,  nor  did  the  man  wait  to  see 
the  meal  finished,  fearing,  no  doubt,  that  his  uninvited  and  unceremonious  guest 
might  keep  a  corner  for  him. 

Many  instances  have  been  observed  of  the  peculiar  sagacity  of  the  Polar 
bear.  Scoresby  relates  that  the  captain  of  a  whaler,  being  anxious  to  procure 
a  bear  without  wounding  the  skin,  made  trial  of  the  stratagem  of  laying  the 
noose  of  a  rope  in  the  snow,  and  placing  a  piece  of  kreng,  or  whale's  carcass, 
within  it.  A  bear,  ranging  the  neighboring  ice,  was  soon  enticed  to  the  spot. 
Approaching  the  bait,  he  seized  it  in  his  mouth ;  but  his  foot,  at  the  same 
moment,  by  a  jerk  of  the  rope,  being  entangled  in  the  noose,  he  pushed  it  off 
with  the  adjoining  paw,  and  deliberately  retired.  After  having  eaten  the  piece 
he  carried  away  with  him,  he  returned.  The  noose,  with  another  piece  of 
kreng,  being  then  replaced,  he  pushed  the  rope  aside,  and  again  walked  tri- 
umphantly off  with  the  kreng.  A  third  time  the  noose  was  laid,  and  this  time 
the  rope  was  buried  in  the  snow,  and  the  bait  laid  in  a  deep  hole  dug  in  the 
centre.  But  Bruin,  after  snuffing  about  the  place  for  a  few  minutes,  scraped 
the  snow  away  with  his  paw,  threw  the  rope  aside,  and  escaped  unhurt  with 
his  prize. 

The  she-bear  is  taught  by  a  wonderful  instinct  to  shelter  her  young  under 
the  snow.  Towards  the  month  of  December  she  retreats  to  the  side  of  a  rQck, 
where,  by  dint  of  scraping  and  allowing  the  snow  to  fall  upon  her,  she  forms  a 
cell  in  which  to  reside  during  the  winter.  There  is  no  fear  that  she  should  be 
stifled  for  want  of  air,  for  the  warmth  of  her  breath  always  keeps  a  small  pas- 
sage open,  and  the  snow,  instead  of  forming  a  thick  uniform  sheet,  is  broken 
by  a  little  hole,  round  which  is  collected  a  mass  of  glittering  hoar-frost,  caused 
by  the  congelation  of  the  breath.  Within  this  strange  nursery  she  produces 
her  young,  and  remains  with  them  beneath  the  snow  until  the  month  of  March, 
when  she  emerges  into  the  open  air  with  het  baby  bears.  As  the  time  passes 
on,  the  breath  of  the  family,  together  with  the  warmth  exhaled  from  their 

5 


66 


THE  POLAK  WORLD. 


% 


^0        ^^S^'^.tr^^ 


HOME   OF   THE   POLAK   BEAK 


bodies,  serves  to  enlarge  the  cell,  so  that  with  their  increasing  dimensions  the 
accommodation  is  increased  to  suit  them.  As  the  only  use  of  the  snow-bmTow 
is  to  shelter  the  young,  the  male  bears  do  not  hibernate  like  the  females,  but 
roam  freely  about  during  the  winter  months.  Before  retiring  under  the  snow, 
the  bear  eats  enormously,  and,  driven  by  an  unfailing  instinct,  resorts  to  the 
most  nutritious  diet,  so  that  she  becomes  prodigiously  fat,  thus  laying  in  an  in- 
ternal store  of  alimentary  matter  which  enables  her  not  only  to  support  her 
own  life,  but  to  suckle  her  young  during  her  long  seclusion,  without  taking  a 
morsel  of  food.  By  an  admirable  provision  of  nature,  the  young  are  of  won- 
derfully small  dimensions  when  compared  with  the  parent ;  and  as  their  growth, 
as  long  as  they  remain  confined  in  their  crystal  nursery,  is  remarkably  slow, 
they  consequently  need  but  little  food  and  space. 

The  Polar  bear  is  armed  with  formidable  weapons,  and  a  proportionate 
power  to  use  them.  His  claws  are  two  inches  in  length,  and  his  canine  teeth, 
exclusive  of  the*  part  in  the  jaw,  about  an  inch  and  a  half.  Thus  the  hoards 
of  provisions  which  are  frequently  deposited  by  Arctic  voyagers  to  provide  for 
some  future  want,  have  no  greater  enemy  than  the  Polar  bear.  "  The  final 
cache,"  says  Kane,  "  which  I  relied  so  much  upon,  was  entirely  destroyed.  It 
had  been  built  with  extreme  care,  of  rocks  which  had  been  assembled  by  very 
heavy  labor,  and  adjusted  with  much  aid,  often,  from  capstan-bars  as  levers. 


ARCTIC  ItlARINE  ANIMALS.  67 

The  entire  construction  was,  so  far  as  our  means  permitted,  most  effective  and 
resisting.  Yet  these  tigers  of  the  ice  seemed  hardly  to  have  encountered  an 
obstacle.  Not  a  morsel  of  pemmican  remained,  except  in  the  iron  cases,  which 
being  round,  with  conical  ends,  defied  both  claws  and  teeth.  They  had  rolled 
and  pawed  them  in  every  direction,  tossing  them  about  like  footballs,  althougli 
over  eighty  jjounds  in  weight.  An  alcohol  can,  strongly  iron-bound,  was 
dashed  into  small  fragments,  and  a  tin  can  of  liquor  smashed  and  twisted 
almost  into  a  ball.  The  claws  of  the  beast  had  perforated  the  metal  and  torn 
it  up  as  with  a  chisel.  They  were  too  dainty  for  salt  meats ;  gi'ound  coffee 
they  had  an  evident  relish  for ;  old  canvas  was  a  favorite,  for  some  reason  or 
other ;  even  our  flag,  which  had  been  reai'ed  '  to  take  possession '  of  the 
waste,  was  gnawed  down  to  the  very  staff.  They  had  made  a  regular  ^frolic  of 
it ;  rolling  our  bread-barrels  over  the  ice  ;  and,  unable  to  masticate  our  heavy 
India-rubber  cloth,  they  had  tied  it  up  in  unimaginable  hard  knots." 

Numbers  of  sea-birds  are  found  breeding  along  the  Arctic  shores  as  far  as 
man  has  hitherto  penetrated ;  some  even  keep  the  sea  in  the  high  latitudes  all 
the  winter,  wherever  open  water  exists.  On  the  most  northern  rocks  the  razor- 
bill rears  its  young,  and  the  fulmar  and  Ross's  gull  have  been  seen  in  lanes  of 
water  beyond  82°  lat.  As  the  sun  gains  in  power,  enormous  troops  of  puffins, 
looms,  dovekies,  rotges,  skuas,  burgermasters,  Sabine's  gulls,  kittiwakes,  ivory 


THE   GULL. 


gulls,  and  Arctic  terns,  return  to  the  north.  There  they  enjoy  the  long  sum- 
mer day,  and  revel  in  the  abundance  of  the  fish-teeming  waters,  bringing  life 
and  animation  into  solitudes  seldom  or  perhaps  never  disturbed  by  the  presence 
of  man,  and  mingling  their  wild  screams  with  the  hoarse-resounding  surge  or 
the  howling  of  the  storm.  In  many  localities  they  breed  in  such  abundance, 
that  it  may  be  said,  almost  without  exaggeration,  that  they  darken  the  sun 
when  they  fly,  and  hide  the  waters  wlien  they  swim. 


68 


THE   POLAR  WORLD. 


LAVA-FIELDS. 


CHAPTER  V. 

ICELAND. 

Volcanic  Origin  of  tlie  Island.— The  Klofa  Jiikul.— Lava-streams.— The  Burning  Mountains  of  Krisn- 
vik.— The  Mud-caldrons  of  Reykjahlid.— The  Tungo-hver  at  Reykholt.— The  Great  Geysir.— The 
Strokkr.— Crystal  Pools. — The  Almannagja. — The  Surts-hellir. — Beautiful  Ice-cave. — The  Gotha 
Foss.- The  Detti  Foss.— Climate.— Vegetation. — Cattle.— Barbarous  ]\Iode  of  Sheep-sheering. — 
Reindeer.— Polar  Bears.— Birds.— The  Eider-duck.— Videy.—Vigr.— The  Wild  Swan.— The  Rar 
ven.— The  Jerfalcon.— The  Giant  auk,  or  Geirfugl.— Fish.— Fishing  Season.— The  White  Shark.— 
Mineral  Kingdom.— Sulphur.— Peat. — Diift-wood. 

ICELAND  might  as  well  be  called  Fireland,  for  all  its  40,000  square  miles 
have  originally  been  upheaved  from  the  depths  of  the  waters  by  volcanic 
power.  First,  at  some  immeasurably  distant  period  of  the  world's  history,  the 
small  nucleus  of  the  future  island  began  to  struggle  into  existence  against  the 
superincumbent  weight  of  the  ocean  ;  then,  in  the  course  of  ages,  cone  rose 
after  cone,  crater  was  formed  after  crater,  eruption  followed  on  eruption,  and 
lava-stream  on  lava-stream,  until  finally  the  Iceland  of  the  present  day  was 
piled  up  Avith  her  gigantic  "  jokuls,"  or  ice-mountains,  and  her  vast  promon- 
tories, stretching  like  huge  buttresses  far  out  into  the  sea. 

In  winter,  when  an  almost  perpetual  night  covers  the  wastes  of  this  fire-born 
land,  and  the  waves  of  a  stormy  ocean  thunder  against  its  shores,  imagination 
can  hardly  picture  a  more  desolate  scene ;  but  in  summer  the  rugged  nature 
of  Iceland  invests  itself  with  many  a  charm.     Then  the  eye  reposes  with  de- 


ICELAND.  69 

light  on  green  valleys  and  crystal  lakes,  on  the  purple  hills  or  snow-capped 
mountains  rising  in  Alpine  grandeur  above  the  distant  horizon,  and  the  stran- 
ger might  almost  be  tempted  to  exclaim  with  her  patriotic  sons,  "  Iceland  is  the 
best  laud  under  the  sun."  That  it  is  one  of  the  most  interesting — through  its 
history,  its  inhabitants,  and,  above  all,  its  natural  curiosities — no  one  can  doubt. 
It  has  all  that  can  please  and  fascinate  the  poet,  the  artist,  the  geologist,  or  the 
historian ;  the  prosaic  utilitarian  alon£,  accustomed  to  value  a  country  merely 
by  its  productions,  might  turn  with  some  contempt  fi'om  a  land  without  corn, 
without  forests,  without  mineral  riches,  and  covered  for  about  two-thirds  of  its 
surface  with  bogs,  lava- wastes,  and  glaciers. 

The  curse  of  sterility  rests  chiefly  on  the  south-eastern  and  central  parts  of 
the  island.  Here  nothing  is  to  be  seen  but  deserts  of  volcanic  stone  or  im- 
mense ice-fields,  the  largest  of  which — the  Klofa  Jokul — alone  extends  over 
more  than  4000  square  miles.  The  interior  of  this  vast  region  of  neve  and 
glacier  is  totally  unknown.  The  highest  peaks,  the  most  dreadful  volcanoes  of 
the  island,  rise  on  the  southern  and  south-western  borders  of  this  hitherto  inac- 
cessible waste  ;  the  Oraefa  looking  down  fi'om  a  height  of  6000  feet  upon  all 
its  rivals — the  Skaptar,  a  name  of  dreadful  significance  in  the  annals  of  Iceland, 
and  farther  on,  like  the  advanced  guards  of  this  host  of  sluml)ering  fires,  the 
Katla,  the  Myrdal,  the  Eyjafjalla,  and  the  Hecla,  the  most  renowned,  though 
not  the  most  terrible,  of  all  the  volcanoes  of  Iceland. 

As  the  ice-fields  of  this  northern  island  far  surpass  in  magnitude  those  of 
the  Alps,  so  also  the  lava-streams  of  ^tna  or  Vesuvius  are  insignificant  when 
compared  with  the  enormous  masses  of  molten  stone  which  at  various  periods 
have  issued  from  the  craters  of  Iceland.  From  Mount  Skjaldebreitb,  on  both 
sides  of  the  lake  of  Thingvalla  as  far  as  Cape  Reykjanes,  the  traveller  sees  an 
uninterrupted  lava-field  more  than  sixty  miles  long,  and  frequently  from  twelve 
to  fifteen  broad ;  and  lava-streams  of  still  more  gigantic  proportions  exist  in 
many  other  parts  of  the  island,  particularly  in  the  interior.  In  general,  these 
lava-streams  have  cooled  down  into  the  most  fantastic  forms  imaginable.  "  It 
is  hardly  possible,"  says  Mr.  Holland,  "  to  give  any  idea  of  the  general  appear- 
ance of  these  once  molten  masses.  Here  a  great  crag  has  toppled  over  into 
some  deep  crevasse,  there  a  huge  mass  has  been  iipheaved  above  the  fiery 
stream  which  has  seethed  and  boiled  around  its  base.  Here  is  every  shape 
and  figure  that  scvalpture  could  design  or  imagination  picture,  jumbled  to- 
gether in  grotesque  confusion,  whilst  everywhere  myriads  of  horrid  spikes  and 
sharp  shapeless  irregularities  bristle  amidst  them." 

By  the  eruptions  of  the  Icelandic  volcanoes  many  a  fair  meadow-land  has 
been  converted  into  a  stony  wilderness ;  but  if  the  subterranean  fires  have  fre- 
quently brought  ruin  and  desolation  over  the  island,  they  have  also  endowed  it 
with  many  natural  wonders. 

In  the  "  burning  mountains "  of  Krisuvik,  on  the  south-western  coast,  a 
whole  hill-slope,  with  a  deep  narrow  gorge  at  its  foot,  is  covered  with  innumer- 
able boiling  springs  and  fumaroles,  whose  dense  exhalations,  spreading  an  in- 
tolerable stench,  issue  out  of  the  earth  with  a  hissing  noise,  and  completely  hide 
the  view. 


70  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


lii'ilUY    IN    LAVA. 


The  Namar,  or  boiling  mud-caldrons  of  Reykjahlid,  situated  among  a  range 
of  mountains  near  the  My  vatn  (Gnat-Lake),  in  one  of  the  most  solitary  spots  in 
the  north  of  the  island,  on  the  border  of  enormous  lava-fields  and  of  a  vast  un- 
known wilderness,  exhibit  volcanic  power  on  a  still  more  gigantic  scale.  There 
are  no  less  than  twelve  of  these  seething  pits,  all  filled  Avith  a  disgusting  thick 
slimy  gray  or  black  liquid,  boiling  or  simmering  with  greater  or  less  vehemence, 
and  emitting  dense  volumns  of  steam  strongly  impregnated  with  sulphurous 
gases.  Some  sputter  furiously,  scattering  their  contents  on  every  side,  while  in 
others  the  muddy  soup  appears  too  thick  to  boil,  and  after  remaining  quiescent 
for  about  half  a  minute,  rises  up  a  few  inches  in  the  centre  of  the  basin,  emits 
a  puff  of  steam,  and  then  subsides  into  its  former  state.  The  diameter  of  the 
largest  of  all  the  pits  can  not  be  less  than  fifteen  feet ;  and  it  is  a  sort  of  mud 
Geysir,  for  at  intervals  a  column  of  its  black  liquid  contents,  accompanied  with 
a  violent  rush  of  steam,  is  thrown  up  to  the  height  of  six  or  eight  feet.  Pro- 
fessor Sartorius  von  Waltershausen,  one  of  the  few  travellers  who  have  visited 
this  remarkable  spot,  says  that  the  witches  in  Macbeth  could  not  possibly  have 
desired  a  more  fitting  place  for  the  preparation  of  their  infernal  gruel  than  the 
mud-caldrons  of  Reykjahlid. 

Among  the  hot  or  boiling  springs  of  Iceland,  which  in  hundreds  of  places 
gush  forth  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  some  are  of  a  gentle  and  even  flow,  and 
can  be  used  for  bathing,  washing,  or  boiling,  while  others  of  an  intermittent  na- 
ture are  mere  objects  of  curiosity  or  wonder.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  of 
the  latter  is  the  Tungo-hver,  at  Reykholt,  in  the  "  valley  of  smoke,"  thus  named 
from  the  columns  of  vapor  emitted  by  the  thermal  springs  which  are  here  scat- 
tered about  with  a  lavish  hand.  It  consists  of  two  fountains  within  a  yard  of 
each  other — the  larger  one  vomiting  a  column  of  boiling  water  ten  feet  high  for 
the  space  of  about  four  minutes,  when  it  entirely  subsides,  and  then  the  smaller 
one  operates  for  about  three  minutes,  ejecting  a  column  of  about  five  feet. 
The  alternation  is  perfectly  regular  in  time  and  force,  and  there  are  authentic  ac- 
counts of  its  unfailing  exactitude  for  the  last  hundred  years. 

But  of  all  the  springs  and  fountains  of  Iceland  there  is  none  to  equal,  either 
in  grandeur  or  renown,  the  Great  Geysir,  which  is  not  merely  one  of  the  curi- 


ICELAND.  71 

osities  of  the  country,  but  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  earth,  as  there  is  nothiiig 
to  compare  to  it  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 

At  the  foot  of  the  Laugafjall  hill,  in  a  green  plain,  through  which  several 
rivers  meander  like  threads  of  silver,  and  where  chains  of  dark-colored  mount- 
ains, overtopped  here  and  there  by  distant  snow-peaks,  form  a  grand  but  mel- 
ancholy panorama,  dense  volumes  of  steam  indicate  from  afar  the  site  of  a 
whole  system  of  thermal  springs  congregated  on  a  small  piece  of  ground  which 
does  not  exceed  twelve  acres.  In  any  other  spot,  the  smallest  of  these  boiling 
fountains  would  arrest  the  traveller's  attention,  but  here  his  whole  mind  is  ab- 
sorbed by  the  Great  Geysir.  In  the  course  of  countless  ages  this  monarch  of 
springs  has  formed,  out  of  the  silica  it  deposits,  a  mound  which  rises  to  about 
thirty  feet  above  the  general  surface  of  the  plain,  and  slopes  on  all  sides  to  the 
distance  of  a  hundred  feet  or  thereabouts  from  the  border  of  a  large  circular 
basin  situated  in  its  centre,  and  measuring  about  fifty-six  feet  in  the  greatest 
diameter  and  fifty-two  feet  in  the  narrowest.  In  the  middle  of  this  basin, 
forming  as  it  were  a  gigantic  funnel,  there  is  a  pipe  or  tube,  which  at  its  open- 
ing in  the  basin  is  eighteen  or  sixteen  feet  in  diameter,  but  narrows  consider- 
ably at  a  little  distance  from  the  mouth,  and  then  appears  to  be  not  more  than 
ten  or  twelve  feet  in  diameter.  It  has  been  probed  to  a  depth  of  seventy  feet, 
but  it  is  more  than  probable  that  hidden  channels  ramify  farther  into  the  bow- 
els of  the  earth.  The  sides  of  the  tube  are  smoothly  polished,  and  so  hard  that 
it  is  not  possible  to  strike  off  a  piece  of  it  with  a  hammer. 

Generally  the  whole  basin  is  found  filled  up  to  the  brim  with  sea-green  wa- 
ter as  pure  as  crystal,  and  of  a  temperature  of  from  180°  to  190°.  Astonished 
at  the  placid  tranquillity  of  the  pool,  the  traveller  can  hardly  believe  that  he  is 
really  standing  on  the  brink  of  the  far-famed  Geysir ;  but  suddenly  a  subterra- 
nean thunder  is  heard,  the  ground  trembles  under  his  feet,  the  water  in  the  ba- 
sin begins  to  simmer,  and  large  bubbles  of  steam  rise  from  the  tube  and  burst 
on  reaching  the  surface,  throwing  up  small  jets  of  spray  to  the  height  of  sev- 
eral feet.  Every  instant  he  expects  to  witness  the  grand  spectacle  which  has 
chiefly  induced  him  to  visit  this  northern  land,  but  soon  the  basin  becomes  tran- 
quil as  before,  and  the  dense  vapors  produced  by  the  ebullition  are  wafted  away 
by  the  breeze.  These  smaller  eruptions  are  regularly  repeated  every  eighty  or 
ninety  minutes,  but  frequently  the  traveller  is  obliged  to  wait  a  whole  day,  or 
even  longer,  before  he  sees  the  whole  power  of  the  Geysir.  A  detonation  loud- 
er than  usual  precedes  one  of  these  grand  eruptions  ;  the  water  in  the  basin  is 
violently  agitated ;  the  tube  boils  vehemently  ;  and  suddenly  a  magnificent  col- 
umn of  water,  clothed  in-  vapor  of  a  dazzling  whiteness,  shoots  up  into  the 
air  with  immense  impetuosity  and  noise  to  the  height  of  seventy  or  eighty 
feet,  and,  radiating  at  its  apex,  showers  water  and  steam  in  every  direction.  A 
second  eruption  and  a  third  rapidly  follow,  and  after  a  few  minutes  the  fairy 
spectacle  has  passed  away  like  a  fantastic  vision.  The  basin  is  now  completely 
dried  up,  and  on  looking  down  into  the  shaft,  one  is  astonished  to  see  the  water 
about  six  feet  from  the  rim,  and  as  tranquil  as  in  an  ordinary  well.  After 
about  thirty  or  forty  minutes  it  again  begins  to  rise,  and  after  a  few  hours 
reaches  the  brim  of  the  basin,  whence  it  flows  down  the  slope  of  the  mound 


73- 


THE   POLAR  WORLD. 


into  the  Hvita,  or  White  River.  Soon  the  subterraneous  thunder,  the  shaking  of 
the  ground,  the  simmering  above  the  tube,  and  the  other  phenomena  which  at- 
tend each  minor  eruption,  begin  again,  to  be  followed  by  a  new  period  of  rest, 
and  thus  this  wonderful  play  of  nature  goes  on  day  after  day,  year  after  year, 
and  century  after  century.  The  mound  of  the  Geysir  bears  witness  to  its  im- 
mense antiquity,  as  its  water  contains  but  a  minute  portion  of  silica. 

After  the  Geysir,  the  most  remarkable  fountain  of  these  Phlegnean  fields  is 
the  great  Strokkr, 'situated  about  four  hundred  feet  from  the  former.     Its  tube, 


THE   STBOKKB. 


the  margin  of  which  is  almost  even  with  the  general  surface,  the  small  mound 
and  basin  being  hardly  discernible,  is  funnel-shaped,  or  resembling  the  flower  of 
a  convolvulus,  having  a  depth  of  forty-eight  feet,  and  a  diameter  of  six  feet  at 
the  mouth,  but  contracting,  at  twenty-two  feet  from  the  bottom,  to  only  eleven 
inches.  The  water  stands  from  nine  to  twelve  feet  under  the  brim,  and  is  gen- 
erally in  violent  ebullition.  A  short  time  before  the  beginning  of  the  erup- 
tions, which  are  more  frequent  than  those  of  the  Great  Geysir,  an  enormous 
mass  of  steam  rushes  from  the  tube,  and  is  followed  by  a  rapid  succession  of  jets, 
sometimes  rising  to  the  height  of  120  or  150  feet,  and  dissolving  into  silvery 
mist.  A  peculiarity  of  the  Strokkr  is  that  it  can  at  any  time  be  provoked  to  an 
eruption  by  throwing  into  the  orifice  large  masses  of  peat  or  turf;  thus  chok- 
ing the  shaft,  and  preventing  the  free  escape  of  the  steam.  After  the  lapse  of 
about  ten  minutes,  the  boiling  fluid,  as  if  indignant  at  this  attempt  upon  its 
liberty,  heaves  up  a  column  of  mud  and  water,  with  fragments  of  peat,  as  black 
as  ink. 


ICELAND. 


73 


About  150  paces  from  the  Great  Geysir  are  several  pools  of  the  most  beau- 
tifully clear  water,  tinting  with  every  shade  of  the  purest  green  and  blue  the 
fantastical  forms  of  the  silicious  travertin  which  clothes  their  sides.  The  slight- 
est motion  communicated  to  the  surface  quivers  down  to  the  bottom  of  these 
crystal  grottoes,  and  imparts  what  might  be  called  a  sympathetic  tremor  of  the 
water  to  every  delicate  incrustation  and  plant-like  efflorescence.  "  Aladdin's 
Cave  could  not  be  more  beautiful,"  says  Preyer  ;  and  Mr.  Holland  remarks  that 
neither  description  nor  drawing  is  capable  of  giving  a  sufficient  idea  of  the  sin- 
gularity and  loveliness  of  this  spot.  In  many  places  it  is  dangerous  to  approach 
within  several  feet  of  the  margin,  as  the  earth  overhangs  the  water,  and  is  hol- 
low underneath,  supported  only  by  incrustations  scarcely  a  foot  thick.  A 
plunge  into  waters  of  about  200°  would  be  paying  rather  too  dearly  for  the 
contemplation  of  their  fairy-like  beauty. 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  ALMANNAGJA. 


The  gigantic  chasm  of  the  Almannagja  is  another  of  the  volcanic  wonders 
of  Iceland.  After  a  long  and  tedious  ride  over  the  vast  lava-plain  which  extends 
between  the  Skalafell  and  the  lake  of  Thingvalla,  the  traveller  suddenly  finds 
himself  arrested  in  his  path  by  an  apparently  insurmountable  obstacle,  for  the 


74         ■  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

enormous  Almaunagja,  or  AUman's  Rift,  suddenly  gapes  beneath  his  feet — a 
colossal  rent  extending  above  a  mile  in  length,  and  inclosed  on  both  sides  by 
abrupt  walls  of  black  lava,  frequently  upward  of  a  hundred  feet  high,  and  sep- 
arated from  about  fifty  to  seventy  feet  from  each  other. 


THE  ALMANNAGJA. 


A  corresponding  chasm,  but  of  inferior  dimensions,  the  Hrafnagja,  or  Ra- 
ven's Rift,  opens  its  black  rampart  to  the  east,  about  eight  miles  farther  on  ; 
and  both  form  the  boundaries  of  the  verdant  plain  of  Thingvalla,  which  by  a 
grand  convulsion  of  nature  has  itself  been  shattered  into  innumerable  small 
parallel  crevices  and  fissures  fifty  or  sixty  feet  deep. 

Of  the  Hrafnagja  Mr.  Ross  Browne  says  :  "  A  toilsome  ride  of  eight  miles 
brought  us  to  the  edge  of  the  Pass,  which  in  point  of  rugged  grandeur  far 
surpasses  the  Almannagja,  though  it  lacks  the  extent  and  symmetry  which  give 
the  latter  such  a  remarkable  effect.  Here  was  a  tremendous  gap  in  the  earth, 
over  a  hundred  feet  deep,  hacked  and  shivered  into  a  thousand  fantastic  shapes ; 
the  sides  a  succession  of  the  wildest  accidents ;  the  bottom  a  chaos  of  broken 
lava,  all  tossed  about  in  the  most  terrific  confusion.  It  is  not,  however,  the  ex- 
traordinary desolation  of  the  scene  that  constitutes  its  principal  interest.  The 
resistless  power  which  had  rent  the  great  lava-bed  asunder,  as  if  touched  with 
pity  at  the  ruin,  had  also  flung  from  the  tottering  cliffs  a  causeway  across  the 
gap,  which  now  forms  the  only  means  of  passing  over  the  great  Hrafnagja. 
No  human  hands  could  have  created  such  a  colossal  Avork  as  this  ;  the  imagi- 
nation is  lost  in  its  massive  grandeur ;  and  when  we  reflect  that  miles  of  an 
almost  impassable  country  would  otherwise  have  to  be  traversed  in  order  to 


ICELAND. 


75 


',*-W,,-c,,        --^^ 


THE  HRAFNAGJA. 


reach  the  opposite  side  of  the  gap,  the  conckision  is  irresistible  that  in  the  bat- 
tle of  the  elements  Nature  still  had  a  kindly  remembrance  of  man. 


THE   TINTKON    ROCK. 


76 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


"Five  or  six  miles  beyond  the  Hrafnagja,  near  the  summit  of  a  dividing 
ridge,  Ave  came  upon  a  very  singular  volcanic  formation,  called  the  Tiutron. 
It  stands,  a  little  to  the  right  of  the  trail,  on  a  rise  of  scoria  and  burnt  earth, 
from  which  it  juts  up  in  rugged  relief  to  the  height  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet. 
This  is,  strictly  speaking,  a  huge  clinker,  not  unlike  what  comes  out  of  a  grate 
— hard,  glassy  in  spots,  and  scraggy  all  over.  The  top  part  is  shaped  like  a 
shell ;  in  the  centre  is  a  hole  about  three  feet  in  diameter,  which  opens  into  a 
vast  subterranean  cavity  of  unknown  depth.  Whether  the  Tintron  is  an  ex- 
tinct crater,  through  which  fires  shot  out  of  the  earth  in  by-gone  times,  or  an 
isolated  mass  of  lava,  whirled  through  the  air  out  of  some  distant  volcano,  is 
a  question  that  geologists  must  determine.  The  probability  is  that  it  is  one 
of  those  natural  curiosities  so  common  in  Iceland  which  defy  research.  The 
whole  country  is  full  of  anomalies — bogs  where  one  would  expect  to  find  dry 
land,  and  parched  deserts  Avhere  it  would  not  seem  strange  to  see  bogs  ;  fire 
where  water  ought  to  be,  and  water  in  the  place  of  fire." 

"  Ages  ago,"  says  Lord  Dufferin,  "  some  vast  commotion  shook  the  foun- 
dations of  the  island  ;  and  bubbling  up  from  sources  far  away  amid  the  inland 
hills,  a  fierj  deluge  must  have  rushed  down  between  their  ridges,  until,  esca- 
ping from  the  narrower  gorges,  it  found  space  to  spread  itself  into  one  broad 
sheet  of  molten  stone  over  an  entire  district  of  country,  reducing  its  varied 
surface  to  one  vast  blackened  level.     One  of  two  things  then  occurred  :  either, 


"5'™*'"ll!|i|, 


the  \itiified  mass  contractnig  as  it 
cooled,  the  centre  area  of  fifty  square 
miles  (the  present  plain  of  Thingvalla) 
bui  St  asunder  at  either  side  from  the 
adjoining  plateau,  and  sinking  down  to 
its  present  level,  left  two  parallel  gjas, 
or  chasms,  which  form  its  lateral  bound- 
aries, to  mark  the  limits  of  the  disruption;  or  else,  while  the  pith  or  marrow  of 
the  lava  was  still  in  a  fluid  state,  its  upper  surface  became  solid,  and  formed  a 


FALL   OF    THE   OXERAA. 


ICELAND.  77 

roof,  beneath  which  the  molten  stream  flowed  on  to  lower  levels,  leaving  a  vast 
cavern  into  which  the  upper  crust  subsequently  plumped  down."  In  the  lapse 
of  years,  the  bottom  of  the  Almannagja  has  become  gradually  filled  up  to  an 
even  surface,  covered  with  the  most  beautiful  turf,  except  where  the  river 
Oxeraa,  bounding  in  a  magnificent  cataract  from  the  higher  plateau  over  the 
precipice,  flows  for  a  certain  distance  between  its  walls.  At  the  foot  of  the 
fall  the  waters  linger  for  a  moment  in  a  dark,  deep,  brimming  pool,  hemmed 
in  by  a  circle  of  ruined  rocks,  in  which  anciently  all  women  convicted  of 
capital  crimes  were  immediately  drowned.  Many  a  poor  crone,  accused  of 
witchcraft,  has  thus  ended  iiev  days  in  the  Almannagja.  As  may  easily  be  im- 
agined, it  is  rather  a  nerve-trying  task  to  descend  into  the  chasm  over  a  rugged 
lava-slope,  where  the  least  false  step  may  prove  fatal ;  but  the  Icelandic  horses 
are  so  sure-footed  that  they  can  safely  be  trusted.  From  the  bottom  it  is 
easy  to  distinguish  on  the  one  face  marks  and  formations  exactly  correspond- 
ing, though  at  a  different  level,  with  those  on  the  face  opposite,  and  evidently 
showing  that  they  once  had  dovetailed  into  each  other,  before  the  igneous 
mass  was  rent  asunder. 

Two  leagues  from  Kalmanstunga,  in  an  immense  lava-field,  which  probably 
originated  in  the  Bald  Jokul,  are  situated  the  renowned  Surts-hellir,  or  caves 
of  Surtur,  the  prince  of  darkness  and  fire  of  the  ancient  Scandinavian  mytholo- 
gy. The  principal  entrance  to  the  caves  is  an  extensive  chasm  formed  by  the 
falling  in  of  a  part  of  the  lava-roof ;  so  that,  on  descending  into  it,  the  visitor 
finds  himself  right  in  the  mouth  of  the  main  cavern,  which  runs  in  an  almost 
straight  line,  and  is  nearly  a  mile  in  length.  Its  average  height  is  about  forty, 
and  its  breadth  fifty  feet.  The  lava-crust  which  forms  its  roof  is  about  twelve 
feet  thick,  and  has  the  appearance  of  being  stratified  and  columnar,  like  basaltic 
pillars,  in  its  formation.  Many  of  the  blocks  of  lava  thus  formed  have  become 
detached  and  fallen  into  the  cavern,  where  they  lie  piled  up  in  great  heaps,  and 
heavily  tax  the  patience  of  the  traveller,  who  has  to  scramble  over  the  rugged 
stones,  and  can  hardly  avoid  slipping  and  stumbling  into  the  holes  between 
them,  varied  by  pools  of  water  and  masses  of  snow.  But  after  having  toiled 
and  plodded  to  the  extremity  of  this  dismal  cavern,  his  perseverance  is  amply 
rewarded  by  the  sight  of  an  ice-grotto,  whose  fairy  beauty  appears  still  more 
charming,  in  contrast  with  its  gloomy  vestibule.  From  the  crystal  floor  rises 
group  after  group  of  transparent  pillars  tapering  to  a  point,  while  from  the 
roof  brilliant  icy  pendants  hang  down  to  meet  them.  Columns  and  arches  of 
ice  are  ranged  along  the  crystalline  walls,  and  the  light  of  the  candles  is  reflect- 
ed back  a  hundred-fold  from  every  side,  till  the  whole  cavern  shines  with  aston- 
ishing lustre.  Mr.  Holland,  the  latest  visitor  of  the  Surts-hellir,  declares  he 
never  saw  a  more  brilhant  spectacle  ;  and  the  German  naturalist,  Preyer,  pro- 
nounces it  one  of  the  most  magnificent  sights  in  nature,  reminding  him  of  the 
fairy  grottoes  of  the  Arabian  Nights'  Tales. 

From  the  mountains  and  the  vast  plateau  which  occupies  the  centre  of  the 
island,  numerous  rivers  descend  on  all  sides,  which,  fed  in  summer  by  the  melt- 
ing glaciers,  pour  enormous  quantities  of  turbid  water  into  the  sea,  or  convert 
large  alluvial  flats  into  morasses.      Though  of   a  considerable  breadth,  their 


78  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

course  is  frequently  very  short,  particularly  along  the  southern  coast,  where 
the  jokuls  from  which  they  derive  their  birth  are  only  separated  from  the 
sea  by  a  narrow  foreland.  In  their  impetuous  flow,  they  not  seldom  bear  huge 
blocks  of  stone  along  with  them,  and  cut  off  all  communication  between  the 
inhabitants  of  their  opposite  banks. 

The  chief  rivers  of  Iceland  are,  in  the  south,  the  Thiorsa  and  the  Ilvita, 
which  are  not  inferior  in  width  to  the  Rhine  in  the  middle  part  of  its  course ; 
in  the  north,  the  Skjalfandafljot  and  the  Jokulsa  and  the  Jokulsa  i  Axarfirdi, 
large  and  rapid  streams  above  a  hundred  miles  long ;  and  in  the  east  the  La- 
garfliot.  As  may  be  expected  in  a  mountainous,  country,  containing  many 
glacier-fed  I'ivers,  Iceland  has  numerous  cascades,  many  of  them  rivalling  or 
surpassing  in  beauty  the  far-famed  falls  of  Switzerland, 

One  of  the  most  celebrated  of  these  gems  of  nature  is  the  Goda-foss,  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  island,  formed  by  the  deep  and  rapid  Skjalfandafljot,  as  it 
rushes  with  a  deafening  roar  over  rocks  fifty  feet  high  into  the  caldron  below ; 
but  it  is  far  surpassed  in  magnificence  by  the  Dettifoss,  a  fall  of  the  Jokulsa  i 
Axarfirdi. 

"  In  some  of  old  earth's  convulsions,"  says  its  discoverer,  Mr.  Gould, — for 
from  its  remote  situation,  deep  in  the  northern  wilds  of  Iceland,  it  had  escaped 
the  curious  eye  of  previous  travellers — "  the  crust  of  rock  has  been  rent,  and  a 
frightful  fissure  formed  in  the  basalt,  about  200  feet  deep,  with  the  sides  co- 
lumnar and  perpendicular.  The  gash  terminates  abruptly  at  an  acute  angle, 
and  at  this  spot  the  great  river  rolls  in.  The  wreaths  of  water  sweeping 
down  ;  the  frenzy  of  the  confined  streams  where  they  meet,  shooting  into  each 
other  from  either  side  at  the  apex  of  an  angle ;  the  wild  rebound  when  they 
strike  a  head  of  rock,  lurching  out  half  way  down ;  the  fitful  gleam  of  battling 
torrents,  obtained  through  a  veil  of  eddying  vapor ;  the  Geyslr-spouts  which 
blow  up  about  seventy  feet  from  holes  whence  basaltic  columns  have  been  shot 
by  the  force  of  the  descending  water ;  the  blasts  of  spray  which  rush  upward 
and  burst  into  fierce  showers  on  the  brink,  feeding  rills  which  plunge  over  the 
edge  as  soon  as  they  are  born ;  the  white  writhing  vortex  below,  with  now  and 
then  an  ice-green  wave  tearing  through  the  ioam  to  lash  against  the  walls ;  the 
thunder  and  bellowing  of  the  water,  which  make  the  rock  shudder  under  foot, 
ar-e  all  stamped  on  ray  mind  with  a  vividness  w^hich  it  will  take  years  to  efface. 
The  Almannagja  is  nothing  to  this  chasm,  and  Schaffhausen  is  dwarfed  by 
Dettifoss." 

The  ocean-currents  whicli  wash  the  coasts  of  Iceland  from  opposite  direc- 
tions have  a  considerable  influence  on  its  climate.  The  south  and  west  coasts, 
fronting  the  Atlantic,  and  exposed  to  the  Gulf  Stream,  remain  ice-free  even  in 
winter,  and  enjoy  a  comparatively  mild  temperature,  w^hile  the  cold  Polar  cur- 
rent, flowing  in  a  south-western  direction  from  Spitzbergen  to  Jan  Mayen  and 
Iceland,  conveys  almost  every  year  to  the  eastern  and  northern  shores  of  the 
island  large  masses  of  drift-ice,  which  sometimes  do  not  disappear  before  July 
or  even  August.  According  to  Dr.  Thorstensen,  the  mean  annual  temperature 
of  the  air  at  Reykjavik  is  +40°,  and  that  of  the  sea  -f  42°,  while  according  to 
Herr  von  Scheele  the  mean  annual  temperature  at  Akurcyre,  on  the  north  coast. 


ICELAND.  79 

is  only  +33°,  though  even  this  shows  a  comparatively  mild  climate  in  so  high 
a  latitude.  But  if  Iceland,  thanks  to  its  insular  position  and  to  the  influence 
of  the  Gulf  Stream,  remains  free  from  the  excessive  winter  cold  of  the  Arctic 
continents,  its  summer,  on  the  other  hand,  is  inferior  in  warmth  to  that  which 
reigns  in  the  interior  of  Siberia,  or  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories. 

The  mean  summer  temperature  at  Reykjavik  is  not  above  +54°;  during 
many  years  the  thermometer  never  rises  a  single  time  above  +80°;  sometimes 
even  its  maximum  is  not  higher  than  +59°  ;  and,  on  the  northern  coast,  snow 
not  seldom  falls  even  in  the  middle  of  summer.  Under  such  circumstances,  the 
cultivation  of  the  cereals  is  of  course  impossible ;  and  when  the  drift-ice  re- 
mains longer  than  usual  on  the  northern  coasts,  it  prevents  even  the  growth  of 
the  grass,  and  want  and  famine  are  the  consequence. 

The  Icelandic  summer  is  characterized  by  constant  changes  in  the  weather, 
rain  continually  alternating  with  sunshine,  as  with  us  in  April.  The  air  is  but 
seldom  tranquil,  and  storms  of  terrific  violence  are  of  frequent  occurrence. 
Towards  the  end  of  September  winter  begins,  preceded  by  mists,  which  finally 
descend  in  thick  masses  of  snow.  TravelUng  over  the  mountain-tracks  is  at 
this  time  particularly  dangerous,  although  cairns  or  piles  of  stone  serve  to 
point  out  the  way,  and  here  and  there,  as  over  the  passes  of  the  Alps,  small  huts 
have  been  erected  to  serve  as  a  refuge  for  the  traveller. 

In  former  times  Iceland  could  boast  of  forests,  so  that  houses  and  even  ships 
used  to  be  built  of  indigenous  timber;  at  present  it  is  almost  entirely  destitute 
of  trees,  for  the  dwarf  shrubberies  here  and  there  met  with,  where  the  birch 
hardly  attains  the  height  of  twenty  feet,  are  not  to  be  dignified  with  the  name 
of  woods.  A  service-tree  {Sorbus  cmciiparia)  fourteen  feet  high,  and  measur- 
ing three  inches  in  diameter  at  the  foot,  is  the  boast  of  the  governor's  garden 
at  Reykjavik  ;  it  is,  however,  surpassed  by  another  at  Akureyre,  which  spreads 
a  full  crown  twenty  feet  from  the  ground,  but  never  sees  its  clusters  of  berries 
ripen  into  scarlet. 

The  damp  and  cool  Icelandic  summer,  though  it  prevents  the  successful  cul- 
tivation of  corn,  is  favorable  to  the  growth  of  grasses,  so  that  in  some  of  the 
better  farms  the  pasture-grounds  are  hardly  inferior  to  the  finest  meadows  in 
England.  About  one-third  of  the  surface  of  the  country  is  covered  with  vege- 
tation of  some  sort  or  other  fit  for  the  nourishment  of  cattle ;  but,  as  yet,  art 
has  done  little  for  its  improvement— ploughing,  sowing,  drainage,  an.d  levelling 
being  things  undreamt  of.  With  the  exception  of  the  grasses,  which  are  of 
paramount  importance,  and  the  trees,  which,  in  spite  of  their  stunted  propor- 
tions, are  of  great  value,  as  they  supply  the  islanders  with  the  charcoal  needed 
for  shoeing  their  horses,  few  of  the  indigenous  plants  of  Iceland  are  of  any  use 
to  man.  The  Angelica  archangelica  is  eaten  raw  with  butter;  the  matted 
roots  or  stems  of  the  Menyanthes  trifoliata  serve  to  protect  the  backs  of  the 
horses  against  the  rubbing  of  the  saddle ;  and  the  Icelandic  moss,  which  is  fre- 
quently boiled  in  milk,  is  likewise  an  article  of  exportation.  The  want  of  bet- 
ter grain  frequently  compels  the  poor  islanders  to  bake  a  kind  of  bread  from 
the  seeds  of  the  sand-reed  {Elymus  arenarius),  which  on  our  dunes  are  merely 
picked  by  the  birds  of  passage  ;  and  the  oarweed  or  tangle  {Laminar ia  sac- 


80  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

charina)  is  i:.rized  as  a  vegetable  in  a  land  where  potatoes  and  turnips  are  but 
rarely  cultivated. 

When  the  first  settlers  came  to  Iceland,  they  found  but  two  indigenous 
land-quadrupeds :  a  species  of  field-vole  {Arvicola  oeconomus)  and  the  Arctic 
fox ;  but  the  seas  and  shores  were  no  doubt  tenanted  by  a  larger  number  of 
whales,  dolphins,  and  seals  than  at  the  present  day. 

The  ox,  the  sheep,  and  the  horse  which  accompanied  the  Norse  colonists  to 
their  new  home,  form  the  staple  wealth  of  their  descendants ;  for  the  number 
of  those  who  live  by  breeding  cattle  is  as  three  to  one,  compared  with  those 
who  chiefly  depend  on  the  sea  for  their  subsistence.  Milk  and  whey  ^re  almost 
the  only  beverages  of  the  Icelanders.  Without  butter  they  will  eat  no  fish  ; 
and  curdled  milk,  which  they  eat  fresh  in  summer  and  preserve  in  a  sour  state 
during  the  winter,  is  their  favorite  repast.  Thus  they  set  the  highest  value  en 
their  cattle,  and  tend  them  with  the  greatest  care.  In  the  preservation  of  their 
sheep,  they  are  much  hampered  by  the  badness  of  the  climate,  by  the  scantiness 
of  winter  food,  and  by  the  attacks  of  the  eagles,  the  ravens,  and  the  foxes,  more 
particularly  at  the  lambing  season,  when  vast  numbers  of  the  young  animals 
are  carried  off  by  all  of  them.  The  wool  is  not  sheared  off,  but  torn  from  the 
animal's  back,  and  woven  by  the  peasantry,  during  the  long  winter  evenings,  into 
a  kind  of  coarse  cloth,  or  knit  into  gloves  and  stockings,  which  form  one  of  the 
chief  articles  of  export. 

"  While  at  breakfast,"  says  Mr.  Shepherd,  "  we  witnessed  the  Icelandic  meth- 
od of  sheep-shearing.  Three  or  four  powerful  young  women  seized,  and  easily 
threw  on  their  backs  the  strugghng  victims.  The  legs  were  then  tied,  and  the 
wool  pulled  off  by  main  force.  It  seemed,  from  the  contortions  of  some  of  the 
wretched  animals,  to  be  a  cruel  method ;  but  we  were  told  that  there  is  a  period 
in  the  year  when  the  young  wool,  beginning  to  grow,  pushes  the  old  out  before 
it,  so  that  the  old  coat  is  easily  pulled  out."  The  number  of  heads  of  cattle  in 
the  island  is  about  40,000,  that  of  the  sheep  500,000. 

The  horses,  which  number  from  50,000  to  60,000,  though  small,  are  very  ro- 
bust and  hardy.  There  being  no  wheel  carriages  on  the  island,  they  are  mere- 
ly used  for  riding  and  as  beasts  of  burden.  Their  services  are  indispensable, 
as  without  them  the  Icelanders  would  not  have  the  means  of  travelling  and  car- 
rying their  produce  to  the  fishing  villages  or  ports  at  which  the  annual  suppHes 
arrive  from  Copenhagen.  In  winter  the  poor  animals  must  find  their  own  food, 
and  are  consequently  mere  skeletons  in  spring  ;  they,  however,  soon  recover  in 
summer,  though  even  then  they  have  nothing  whatever  but  the  grass  and  small 
plants  which  they  can  pick  up  on  the  hills. 

The  dogs  are  very  similar  to  those  of  Lapland  and  Greenland.  Like  them, 
they  have  long  hair,  forming  a  kind  of  collar  round  the  neck,  a  pointed  nose, 
pointed  ears,  and  an  elevated  curled  tail,  with  a  temper  which  may  be  charac- 
terized as  restless  and  irritable.     Their  general  color  is  white. 

In  the  year  1Y70  thirteen  reindeer  were  brought  from  Norway.  Ten  of 
them  died  during  the  passage,  but  the  three  that  survived  have  multiplied  so 
fast  that  large  herds  now  roam  over  the  uninhabited  wastes.  During  the  win- 
ter, when  hunger  drives  them  into  the. lower  districts,  they  are  frequently  shot; 


ICELAND. 


81 


ICELANDIC  HORSES. 


but  no  attempts  have  been  made  to  tame  them :  for,  though  iudisiiensable  to  the 
Laplander,  they  are  quite  superfluous  in  Iceland,  which  is  too  rugged  and  too 
much  intersected  by  streams  to  admit  of  sledging.  They  are,  in  fact,  generally 
considered  as  a  nuisance,  as  they  eat  away  the  Icelandic  moss,  which  the  island- 
ers would  willingly  keep  for  their  own  use. 

The  Polar  bear  is  but  a  casual  visitor  in  Iceland.  About  a  dozen  come 
drifting  every  year  with  the  ice  from  Jan  Mayen,  or  Spitzbergen,  to  the  north- 
ern shores.  Ravenous  with  hunger,  they  immediately  attack  the  first  herds 
they  meet  with  ;  but  their  ravages  do  not  last  long,  for  the  neighborhood,  aris- 
ing in  arms,  soon  puts  an  end  to  their  existence. 

In  Iceland  the  ornithologist  finds  a  rich  field  for  his  favorite  study,  as  there 
are  no  less  than  eighty-two  different  species  of  indigenous  birds,  besides  twenty- 
one  that  are  only  casual  visitors,  and  six  that  have  been  introduced  by  man. 

The  swampy  grounds  in  the  interior  of  the  country  are  peopled  with  legions 
of  golden  and  king  plovers,  of  snipes  and  red-shanks ;  the  lakes  abound  with 
swans,  ducks,  and  g^se  of  various  kinds ;  the  snow-bunting  enlivens  the  soli- 
tude of  the  rocky  wilderness  with  his  lively  note,  and,  wherever  grass  grows, 
the  common  pipit  {Atithzis  pratensis)  builds  its  neat  little  nest,  well  lined  A^•ith 
horsehair.  Like  the  lark,  he  rises  singing  from  the  gi'ound,  and  frequently 
surprises  the  traveller  with  his  melodious  warbling,  which  sounds  doubly  sweet 
in  the  lifeless  waste. 

The  eider-duck  holds  the  fii'st  rank  among  the  useful  birds  of  Iceland.  Its 
chief  breeding-places  are  small  flat  islands  on  various  parts  of  the  coast,  where 
it  is  safe  from  the  attacks  of  the  Arctic  fox,  such  as  Akurey,  Flatey,  and  Videy, 


83 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


whicli,  from  its  vicinity  to  Reykjavik,  is  frequently  visited  by  travellers.     All 
these  breeding-places  are  private  property,  and  several  have  been  for  centuries 


in  the  possession  of  the  same  families,  which,  thanks  to  the  birds,  are  among  the 
wealthiest  of  the  land.  It  may  easily  be  imagined  that  the  eider-ducks  are 
guarded  with  the  most  sedulous  care.     Whoever  kills  one  is  obliged  to  pay  a 


ICELAND.  83 

f 

fine  of  thirty  dollars ;  and  the  secreting  of 
an  egg,  or  the  pocketing  of  a  few  downs,  is 
punished  with  all  the  rigor  of  the  law.  The 
chief  occupation  of  Mr.  Stephenson,  the  aged 
proprietor  of  Videy,  who  dwells  alone  on  the 
islet,  is  to  examine  through  his  telescope  all 
the  boats  that  approach,  so  as- to  be  sure  that 
there  are  no  guns  on  board.  During  the 
breeding  season  no  one  is  allowed  to  laud 
without  his  special  permission,  and  all  noise, 
,  shouting,  or  loud  speaking  is  sti'ictly  prohib- 
ited. But,  in  spite  of  these  precautions,  we 
are  informed  by  recent  travellers  that  latterly  the  greater  part  of  the  ducks  of 
Videy  have  been  tempted  to  leave  their  old  quarters  for  the  neighboring  Engey, 
whose  proprietor  hit  upon  the  plan  of  laying  hay  upon  the  strand,  so  as  to  afford 
them  greater  facilities  for  nest-building.  The  eider-down  is  easily  collected,  as  the 
birds  are  quite  tame.  The  female  having  laid  five  or  six  pale  greenish-olive  eggs, 
iu  a  nest  thickly  lined  with  her  beautiful  doAvn,  the  collectors,  after  carefully  re- 
moving the  bird,  rob  the  nest  of  its  contents,  after  which  they  replace  her.  She 
then  begins  to  lay  afresh,  though  this  time  only  three  or  four  eggs,  and  again 
has  recourse  to  the  down  on  her  body.  But  her  greedy  persecutors  once  more 
rifle  her  nest,  and  oblige  her  to  line  it  for  the  third  time. '  Now,  however,  her 
own  stock  of  down  is  exhausted,  and  with  a  plaintive  voice  she  calls  her  mate  to 
her  assistance,  who  willingly  plucks  the  soft  feathers  from  his  breast  to  supply 
the  deficiency.  If  the  cruel  robbery  be  again  repeated,  which  in  former  times 
was  frequently  the  case,  the  poor  eider-duck  abandons  the  spot,  never  to  return, 
and  seeks  for  a  new  home  where  she  may  indulge  her  maternal  instinct  undis- 
turbed. 

Mr.  Shepherd  thus  describes  his  visit  to  Vigr,  in  the  Isafjardardjup,  one  of 
the  head-quarters  of  the  eider-duck  in  the  north  of  Iceland  :  "  As  the  island 
was  approached,  we  could  see  flocks  upon  flocks  of  the  sacred  birds,  and  could 
hear  their  cooings  at  a  great  distance.  We  landed  on  a  rocky  wave-worn  shore, 
against  which  the  waters  scarcely  rippled,  and  set  off  to  investigate  the  island. 
The  shore  was  the  most  wonderful  ornithological  sight  conceivable.  The  ducks 
and  their  nests  were  everywhere  in  a  manner  that  was  quite  alarming.  Great 
brown  ducks  sat  upon  their  nests  in  masses,  and  at  every  step  started  up  from 
under  our  feet.  It  was  with  difiiculty  that  we  avoided  treading  on  some  of 
the  nests.  The  island  being  but  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  width,  the  oppo- 
site shore  was  soon  reached.  On  the  coast  was  a  wall  built  of  large  stones, 
just  above  the  high-water  level,  about  three  feet  in  height,  and  of  considerable 
thickness.  At  the  bottom,  on  both  sides  of  it,  alternate  stones  had  been  left 
out,  so  as  to  form  a  series  of  square  compartments  for  the  ducks  to  make  their 
nests  in.  Almost  every  compartment  was  occupied  ;  and,  as  we  walked  along 
the  shore,  a  long  line  of  ducks  flew. out  one  after  another.  The  surface  of  the 
water  also  was  perfectly  white  with  drakes,  who  welcomed  their  brown  wives 
^ith  loud  and  clamorous  cooing.     When  we  arrived  at  the  farmhouse  we  were 


84  THE   POLAR    WORLD. 

cordially  welcomed  by  its  mistress.  The  house  itself  was  a  great  marvel. 
The  earthern  wall  that  sixrrounded  it  and  the  window  embi-asures  were  occu- 
pied by  ducks.  On  the  ground,  the  house  was  fringed  with  ducks.  On  the 
turf  slopes  of  the  roof  we  could  see  ducks  ;  and  a  duck  sat  in  the  scraper. 

•1  "  A  grassy  bank  close  by  had  been  cut  into  square  patches  like  a  chess- 
board (a  square  of  turf  of  about  eighteen  inches  being  removed,  and  a  hollow 
made),  and  all  w^ere  filled  with  ducks.  A  windmill  was  infested,  and  so  were 
all  the  outhouses,  mounds,  rocks,  and  crevices.  The  ducks  were  everywhere. 
Many  of  thera  were  so  tame  that  we  could  stroke  them  on  their  nests  ;  and  the 
good  lady  told  us  that  there  was  scarcely  a  duck  on  the  island  which  would 
not  allow  her  to  take  its  eggs  without  flight  or  fear.  When  she  first  became 
possessor  of  the  island,  the  produce  of  down  from  the  ducks  was  not  more 
than  fifteen  pounds'  weight  in  the  yeai",  but,  under  her  careful  nurture  of  twenty 
•  years,  it  had  risen  to  nearly  one  hundred  pounds  annually.  It  requires  about 
one  pound  and  a  half  to  make  a  coverlet  for  a  single  bed,  and  the  down  is 
worth  from  twelve  to  fifteen  shillings  per  pound.  Most  of  the  eggs  are  taken 
and  pickled  for  winter  consumption,  one  or  two  only  being  left  to  hatch." 

'^  Though  not  so  impoi'tant  as  the  eider,  the  other  members  of  the  duck 
family  which  during  the  summer  season  enliven  the  lakes  and  swamps  of  Ice- 
land are  very  serviceable.  On  the  Myvatn,  or  Gnat  Lake,  one  of  their  chief 
places  of  resort,  the  eggs  of  the  long-tailed  duck,  the  wild  duck,  the  scoter,  the 
common  goosander,  the  red-breasted  merganser,  the  scaup-duck,  etc.,  and  other 
anserines  are  carefully  gathered  and  preserved  in  enormous  quantities  for  the 
winter,  closely  packed  in  a  fine  gray  volcanic  sand. 

The  wild  swan  is  frequently  shot  or  caught  for  his  feathers,  which  bring  in 
many  a  dollar  to  the  fortunate  huntsman.  This  noble  bird  frequents  both  the 
salt  and  brackish  waters  along  the  coast  and  the  inland  lakes  and  rivers,  where 
it  is  seen  either  in  single  pairs  or  congregated  in  large  flocks.  To  build  its 
nest,  which  is  said  to  resemble  closely  that  of  the  flamingo,  being  a  large 
mound,  composed  of  mud,  rushes,  grass,  and  stones,  with  a  cavity  at  top  Uned 
with  soft  down,  it  retires  to  some  solitary,  uninhabited  spot.  Much  has  been 
said  in  ancient  times  of  the  singing  of  the  swan,  and  the  beauty  of  its  dying 
notes  ;  but,  in  truth,  the  voice  of  the  swan  is  very  loud,  shrill,  and  harsh,  though 
when  high  in  the  air,  and  modulated  by  the  winds,  the  note  or  whoop  of  an 
assemblage  of  them  is  not  unpleasant  to  the  ear.  It  has  a  peculiar  charm  in 
the  unfrequented  wastes  of  Iceland,  where  it  agreeably  interrupts  the  profound 
silence  that  reigns  around. 

The  raven,  one  of  the  commonest  land-birds  in  Iceland,  is  an  object  of  avei'- 
sion  to  the  islanders,  as  it  not  only  seizes  on  their  young  lambs  and  eider-ducks, 
but  also  commits  great  depredations  among  the  fishes  laid  out  to  dry  upon  the 
shore.  Poles  to  which  dead  ravens  are  attached,  to  serve  as  a  warning  to  the 
living,  are  frequently  seen  in  the  meadows  ;  and  the  Icelander  is  never  so  hap- 
py as  when  he  has  succeeded  in  shooting  a  raven.  This,  however,  is  no  easy 
task,  as  no  bird  is  more  cautious,  and  its  eyes  are  as  sharp  as  those  of  the  eagle. 
Of  all  Icelandic  birds,  the  raven  breeds  the  earliest,  laying  about  the  middle  of 
March  its  five  or  six  pale-green  eggs,  spotted  with  brown,  in  the  inaccessible 


ICELAND. 


85 


crevices  of  rocks.     Towards  tlie  end  of  June,  Preyer  saw  many  young  ravens 
grown  to  a  good  size,  and  but  little  inferior  to  the  old  ones  in  cunning. 

In  the  gloomy  Scandinavian  mythology  the  raven  occupies  a  rank  equal  to 
that  of  the  eagle  in  the  more  cheerful  fables  of  ancient  Greece.  It  was  dedi- 
cated to  Odin,  who,  as  the  traditional  history  of  Iceland  informs '  us,  had  two 
ravens,  which  were  let  loose  every  morning  to  gather  tidings  of  what  was  go- 
ing on  in  the  world,  and  which  on  returning  in  the  evening  perched  upon  Odin's 
shoulders  to  Avhisper  the  news  in  his  ear  j  the  name  of  one  was  Hugin,  or 
spirit ;  of  the  other,  Mumin,  or  memory.  Even  now  many  superstitious  no- 
tions remain  attached  to  the  raven ;  for  the  Icelanders  believe  this  bird  to  be 
not  only  acquainted  with  what  is  going  on  at  a  distance,  but  also  with  what  is 
to  happen  in  future,  and  are  convinced  that  it  foretells  when  any  of  the  family 
is  about  to  die,  by  perching  on  the  roof  of  the  house,  or  wheeling  round  in  the 
air  with  a  continual  cry,  varying  its  voice  in  a  singular  and  melodious  manner. 
A  The  white-tailed  sea-eagle  is  not  uncommon  in  Iceland,  where  he  stands  in 
evil  repiUe  as  a  kidnapper  of  lambs  and  eider-ducks.  He  is  sometimes  found 
dead  in  the  nets  of  the  fishermen ;  for,  pouncing  upon  a  haddock  or  salmon,  he 
gets  entangled  in  the  meshes,  and  is  unable  to  extricate  himself.  The  skins  of 
the  bird,  which  seems  to  attain  a  larger  size  than  in  Great  Britain,  most  likely 
from  being  less  disturbed  by  man,  are  sold  at  Reykjavik  and  Akureyre  for  from 
three  to  six  rix-doUars.  / 

The  jyrfalcon  {Falco  gyrfalco),  generally 
considered,  as  the  boldest  and  most  beauti- 
ful of  the  falcon  tribe,  has  its  head-quarters 
in  Iceland.  As  long  as  the  noble  sport  of 
falconry  was  in  fashion,  for  which  it  was 
highly  esteemed,  the  trade  in  falcons  was 
worth  from  2000  to  3000  rix-dollars  annually 
to  the  islanders,  and  even  now  high  prices 
are  paid  for  it  by  English  amateurs. 

The  rarest  bird  of  Iceland,  if  not  entirely 
extinct,  is  the  Giant-auk,  or  Geirfugl.  The 
last  pair  was  caught  about  seventeen  years 
ago  near  the  Geirfuglaskers,  a  group  of  sol- 
itary rocks  to  the  south  of  the  Westman 
Isles,  its  only  known  habitat  besides  some 
similar  cliffs  on  the  north-eastern  coast. 
Since  that  time  it  is  said  to  have  been  seen 
by  some  fishermen  ;  but  this  testimony  is  extremely  doubtful,  and  the  question 
of  its  existence  can  only  be  solved  by  a  visit  to  the  Geirfuglaskers  themselves 
— an  undertaking  which,  if  practicable  at  all,  is  attended  with  extreme  difficulty 
and  danger,  as  these  rocks  are  completely  isolated  in  the  sea,  which  even  in 
calm  weather  breaks  with  such  violence  against  their  abrupt  declivities  that 
for  years  it  must  be  absolutely  impossible  to  approach  them. 

In  1858  two  English  naturalists  determined  at  least  to  make  the  attemjit, 
and  settled  for  a  season  in  a  small  hamlet  on  the  neighboring  coast,  eager  to 


THE  jyRFALCON. 


86 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


THE   GIANT-AUK. 


seize  the  first  opportunity* for  storming  the  Geirfugl's  stronghold.  They  wait- 
ed for  several  mouths,  but  in  vain,  the  stormy  summer  being  more  than  usually 
unfavorable  for  their  undertaking ;  and  they  were  equally  unsuccessful  in  the 
north,  whither  they  had  sent  an  Icelandic  student  specially  instructed  for  the 
purpose.  The  giant-auk  is  three  feet  high,  and  has  a  black  bill  four  inches  and 
a  quarter  long,  both  mandibles  being  crossed  obliquely  with  several  ridges  and 
furrows.  Its  wings  are  mere  stumps,  like  those  of  the  Antarctic  penguins. 
Thirty  pounds  have  been  paid  for  its  egg,  which  is  lai-ger  than  that  of  any 
other  Eui-opean  bird;  and  there  is  no  knowing  the  price  the  Zoological  Society 
would  pay  for  a  live  bird,  if  this  truly  "  rara  avis  "  could  still  be  found. 

The  waters  of  Iceland  abound  with  excellent  fish,  which  not  only  supply  the 
islanders  with  a  great  part  of  their  food  and  furnish  them  with  one  of  their 
chief  articles  of  exportation,  but  also  attract  a  number  of  foreign  seamen. 
Thus  about  300  French,  Dutch,  and  Belgian  fishing-sloops,  manned  with  crews 
amounting  in  all  to  7000  men,  annually  make  their  appearance  on  the  southern 
and  western  coasts  of  Iceland,  particularly  those  of  the  Guldbringe  Syssel,  or 
gold-bringing  country :  thus  named,  not  f  i-om  any  evidence  of  the  precious 
metal,  but  from  the  golden  cod-harvests  reaped  on  its  shores.  Between  thirty 
and  forty  English  fishing-smacks  yearly  visit  the  northern  coast.  When  they 
have  obtained  a  good  cargo  they  run  to  Shetland  to  discharge  it,  and  return 
again  for  more. 

The  Icelandic  fishing-season,  which  begins  in  February  and  ends  in  June, 
occupies  one-half  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  the  island,  who  come  flocking  to 
the  west,  even  from  the  remotest  districts  of  the  north  and  east,  to  partake  of 
the  rich  harvest  of  the  seas.  Many  thus  travel  for  more  than  200  miles  in  the 
midst  of  winter,  while  the  storm  howls  over  the  naked  waste,  and  the  pale  sun 
scarcely  dispels  for  a  few  hours  the  darkness  of  the  night.  In  every  hut  where 
they  tarry  on  the  road  they  are  welcome,  and  have  but  rarely  to  pay  for  their 


ICELAND.  .  87 

entertainment,  for  hospitality  is  still  reckoned  a  duty  in  Iceland,  On  reaching 
the  fishing-station,  an  agreement  is  soon  made  with  the  proprietor  of  a  boat. 
They  usually  engage  to  assist  in  fishing  from  February  12  to  May  12,  and  re- 
ceive in  return  a  share  of  the  fish  which  they  help  to  catch,  besides  forty 
pounds  of  flour  and  a  daily  allowance  of  sour  curds,  or  "  skier." 

All  the  men  belonging  to  a  boat  generally  live  in  the  same  damp  and  nar- 
row hut.  At  daybreak  they  launch  forth,  to  brave  for  many  hours  the  inclem- 
encies of  the  weather  and  the  sea,  and  while  engaged  in  their  hard  day's  work 
their  sole  refreshment  is  the  chewing  of  tobacco  or  a  mofithful  of  skier.  On 
returning  to  their  comfortless  hut,  their  supper  consists  of  the  fishes  of  inferior 
quality  they  may  have  caught,  or  of  the  heads  of  the  cod  or  Ung,  which  are  too 
valuable  for  their  own  consumption.  These  are  split  open  and  hung  upon  lines, 
or  exposed  on  the  shore  to  the  cold  wind  and  the  hot  sun ;  this  renders  them 
perfectly  hard,  and  they  keep  good  for  years.  In  this  dried  state  the  cod  is 
called  stockfish.  About  the  middle  of  May  the  migratory  fishermen  return  to 
their  homes,  leaving  their  fish  which  are  not  yet  quite  dry  to  the  care  of  the 
fishermen  dwelling  on  the  spot.  Towards  the  middle  of  June,  when  the  horses 
have  so  far  recovered  from  their  long  winter's  fast  as  to  be  able  to  bear  a  load, 
they  come  back  to  fetch  their  stockfish,  which  they  convey  either  to  their  own 
homes  for  the  consumption  of  their  own  families,  or  to  the  nearest  port  for  the 
purpose  of  bartering  it  against  other  articles.  Haddocks,  flatfish,  and  herrings 
are  also  very  abundant  in  the  Icelandic  seas  ;  and  along  the  northern  and  north- 
western coasts  the  basking  shark  is  largely  fished  for  all  the  summer.  Strong 
hooks  baited  with  mussels  or  pieces  of  fish,  and  attached  to  chains  anchored  at 
a  short  distance  from  the  shore,  serve  for  the  capture  of  this  monster,  which  is 
scarcely,  if  at  all,  inferior  in  size  to  the  white  shark,  though  not  nearly  so  for- 
midable, as  it  rarely  attacks  man.  '  The  skin  serves  for  making  sandals ;  the 
coarse  flesh  is  eaten  by  the  islanders,  whom  necessity  has  taught  not  to  be  over- 
nice  in  their  food ;  and  the  liver,  the  most  valuable  part,  is  stewed  for  the  sake 
of  its  oil. 

"  We  had  observed,"  says  Mr.  Shepherd,  "  that  the  horrible  smell  which  in- 
fested Jsa-fjordr  varied  in  intensity  as  we  approached  or  receded  from  a  cer- 
tain black-looking  building  at  the  northern  end  of  the  town.  On  investigating 
this  building,  we  discovered  that  the  seat  of  the  smell  was  to  be  found  in  a 
mass  of  putrid  sharks'  livers,  part  of  which  were  undergoing  a  process  of  stew- 
ing in  a  huge  copper.  It  was  a  noisome  green  mass,  fearful  to  contemplate. 
The  place  was  endurable  only  for  a  few  seconds ;  yet  dirty-looking  men  stirred 
up  the  mass  with  long  poles,  and  seemed  to  enjoy  the  reeking  vapors." 

The  salmon  of  Iceland,  which  formerly  remained  undisturbed  by  the  phleg- 
matic inhabitants,  are  now  caught  in  large  numbers  for  the  British  market.  A 
small  river  bearing  the  significant  name  of  Laxaa,  or  Salmon  Kiver,  has  been 
rented  for  the  trifling  sum  of  £100  a  year  by  an  English  company,  which  sends 
every  spring  its  agents  to  the  spot  well  provided  with  the  best  fishing  appara- 
tus. The  captured  fish  are  immediately  boiled,  and  hermetically  packed  in  tin 
boxes,  so  that  they  can  be  eaten  in  London  almost  as  fresh  as  if  they  had  just 
been  caught. 


88  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

The  mineral  kingdom  contributes  but  little  to  the  prosperity  of  Iceland.  It 
affords  neither  metals,  nor  precious  stones,  nor  rock-salt,  nor  coal;  for  the  seams 
of  "  surturbrand,"  or  "  lignite,"  found  here  and  there,  are  too  unimportant  to 
be  worked.  The  solfataras  of  Krisuvik  and  Ilusavik,  though  extremely  inter- 
esting to  the  geologist,  likewise  furnish  sulphur  in  too  impure  a  condition  or 
too  thinly  scattered  to  afford  any  prospect  of  being  worked  with  success,  not 
to  mention  the  vast  expense  of  transport  over  the  almost  impassable  lava-tracks 
that  separate  them  from  the  nearest  ports.  In  1839-40,  when,  in  consequence 
of  the  monopoly  grS,nted  by  the  Neapolitan  Government  to  a  French  company, 
sulphur  had  risen  to  more  than  three  times  its  usual  price,  Mr.  Knudsen,  an  en- 
terprising Danish  merchant,  undertook  to  work  the  mines  of  Krisuvik,  but  even 
then  it  would  not  answer. 

In  1859,  a  London  company,  founded  by  Mr,  Bushby, — who  having  explored 
the  sulphur  districts,  bad  raised  great  expectations  on  what  he  considered  their 
dormant  wealth, — renewed  the  attempt,  but  after  a  year's  trial  it  was  aban- 
doned as  perfectly  hopeless.  The  "  solfataras  of  Iceland,"  says  Professor  Sar- 
torius  of  Waltershausen,  "  can  not  compete  with  those  of  Sicily,  where  more 
sulphur  is  wantonly  wasted  and  trodden  under  foot  than  all  Iceland  possesses. 
While  the  "  Namars"  of  the  north,  which  are  far  richer  than  those  of  Krisuvik, 
annually  furnish  scarcely  more  than  ten  tons,  the  sulphur  mines  of  Sicily  pro- 
duce at  least  50,000,  and,  if  necessary,  could  easily  export  double  the  quantity." 

As  coal  is  too  expensive  a  fuel  for  any  but  the  rich  in  the  small  sea-port 
towns,  and  peat,  though  no  doubt  abundantly  scattered  over  the  island,  is  dug 
only  in  a  few  places,  the  majority  of  the  people  make  use  of  singular  substi- 
tutes. The  commonest  is  dried  cow's  and  sheep's  dung;  but  many  a  poor 
fisherman  lacks  even  this  "  spicy "  material,  and  is  fain  to  use  the  bones  of 
animals,  the  skeletons  of  fishes  or  dried  sea-birds,  which,  Avith  a  stoical  con- 
tempt for  his  olfactory  organs,  he  burns,  feathers  and  all.  There  is,  however, 
no  want  of  fuel  in  those  privileged  spots  where  drift-wood  is  found,  and  here 
the  lava  hearth  of  the  islander  cheerfully  blazes  either  with  the  pine  conveyed 
to  him  by  the  kindly  Polar  currents  from  the  Siberian  forests,  or  with  some 
tropical  trunk,  wafted  by  the  Gulf  Stream  over  the  Atlantic  to  his  northerzx 
home. 


HISTORY  OF  ICELAND. 


89 


CATHEDRAL  AT  KETKJAVIK. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

HISTORY  OF  ICELAND. 

Discoverj'  of  the  Island  bj'  Naddodr  in  861.— Gardar.— Floki  of  the  Ravens.— Ingolfr  and  Leif.— Ulfliot 
the  Lawgiver.— The  Althing.— Thingvalha.-Introduction  of  Christianit3-into  the  Island.— Frederick 
the  Saxon  and  ThorwoldtheTraveller.—Thangbrand.— Golden  Age  of  Icelandic  Literature.— Snorri 
Sturleson.— The  Island  submits  to  Hakon,  King  of  Norway,  in  1254.— Long  Series  of  Calamities.— 
Great  Eruption  of  the  Skapta  Jokul  in  1783.— Commercial  Monopoly.— Better  Times  in  Prospect. 

THE  Norse  vikings  were,  as  is  well  known,  the  boldest  of  navigators.  They 
possessed  neither  the  sextant  nor  the  compass ;  they  had  neither  charts 
nor  chronometers  to  guide  them ;  but  trusting  solely  to  fortune,  and  to  their 
own  indomitable  courage,  they  fearlessly  launched  forth  into  the  vast  ocean. 
Many  of  these  intrepid  corsairs  were  no  doubt  lost  on  their  adventurous  expe- 
ditions, but  frequently  a  favorable  chance  rewarded  their  temerity,  either  with 
some  rich  booty  or  some  more  glorious  discovery. 

Thus  in  the  year  861,  Naddodr,  a  Norwegian  pirate,  while  sailing  from  his 
native  coast  to  the  Faeroe  Islands,  was  drifted  by  contrary  winds  far  to  the 


90  #THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

north.  For  several  clays  no  land  was  visible — notliing  but  an  interminable 
waste  of  waters;  when  suddenly  the  snow-clad  mountains  of  Iceland  were  seen 
to  rise  above  the  mists  of  the  ocean.  Soon  after  Naddodr  landed  with  part  of 
his  crew,  but  discovered  no  traces  of  man  in  the  desert  country.  The  viking 
tarried  but  a  short  time  on  this  unpromising  coast,  on  which  he  bestowed  the 
api^ropriate  name  of  Snowland. 

Three  years  later,  Gardar,  another  northern  freebooter,  while  sailing  to  the 
Hebrides,  was  likewise  driven  by  stormy  weather  to  Iceland.  He  was  the  first 
circumnavigator  of  the  island,  which  he  called,  after  himself,  Gardar's  holm,  or 
the  island  of  Gardar.  On  his  return  to  his  native  port,  he  gave  his  countrymen 
so  flattering  an  account  of  the  newly-discovered  land,  that  Floki,  a  famous  vi- 
king, resolved  to  settle  there.  Trusting  to  the  augury  of  birds,  Floki  took  with 
him  three  ravens  to  direct  him  on  his  way.  Having  sailed  a  certain  distance 
beyond  the  Faeroe  Islands,  he  gave  liberty  to  one  of  them,  Avhich  immediately 
returned  Xo  the  land.  Proceeding  onward,  he  loosed  the  second,  which,  after 
circling  for  a  few  minutes  round  the  ship,  again  settled  on  its  cage,  as  if  terri- 
fied by  the  boundless  expanse  of  the  sea.  The  third  bird,  on  obtaining  his  lib- 
erty  a  few  days  later,  proved  at  length  a  faithful  pilot,  and  flying  direct  to  the 
north,  conducted  Floki  to  Iceland,  As  the  sea-king  entered  the  broad  bay 
which  is  bounded  on  the  left  by  the  huge  Snafells  Jokul,  and  on  the  right  by 
the  bold  promontory  of  the  Guldbringe  Syssel,  Faxa,  one  of  his  companions,  re- 
marked that  a  land  with  such  noble  features  must  needs  be  of  considerable  ex- 
tent. To  reward  him  for  this  remark,  which  flattei'ed  the  vanity  or  the  ambi- 
tion of  his  leader,  the  bay  was  immediately  named  Faxa  Fiord,  as  it  is  still  call- 
ed to  the  present  day.  The  new  colonists,  attracted  by  the  abundance  of  fish 
they  found  in  the  bay,  built  their  huts  on  the  borders  of  a  small  outlet,  still 
bearing  the  name  of  Rafna  Fiord,  or  the  Raven's  Frith  ;  but  as  they  neglected 
to  make  hay  for  the  winter,  the  horsdS  and  cattle  they  had  brought  with  them 
died  of  want.  Disappointed  in  his  expectations,  Floki  returned  home  in  the  sec- 
ond year,  and,  as  might  naturally  have  been  expected  from  an  unsuccessful  settler, 
gave  his  countrymen  but  a  dismal  account  of  Iceland,  as  he  definitely  named  it. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  his  forbidding  description,  the  political  disturbances  which 
took  place  about  this  time  in  Norway  led  to  the  final  colonization  of  the  island. 
Harold  Haarfager,  or  the  Fair-haired,  a  Scandinavian  yarl,  having  by  violence 
and  a  successful  policy  reduced  all  his  brother-yarls  to  subjection,  first  consoli- 
dated their  independent  domains  into  one  realm,  and  made  himself  absolute  mas- 
ter of  the  whole  country.  Many  of  his  former  equals  submitted  to  his  yoke ; 
but  others,  animated  by  that  unconquerable  love  of  liberty  innate  in  men  who 
for  many  generations  have  known  no  superior,  preferred  seeking  a  new  home 
across  the  ocean  to  an  ignominious  vassalage  under  the  detested  Harold.  In- 
golfr  and  his  cousin  Leif  were  the  first  of  these  high-minded  nobles  that  emi- 
grated (869-870)  to  Iceland. 

On  approaching  the  southern  coast,  Ingolfr  cast  the  sacred  pillars  belonging 
to  his  former  dwelling  into  the  water,  sif\d  vowed  to  establisli  himself  on  the 
spot  to  which  they  should  be  wafted  by  the  waves.  His  pious  intentions  were 
for  the  time  frustrated,  as  a  sudden  squall  separated  liini  from  his  penates,  and 


HISTORY    OF    ICELANO^  91 

forced  him  to  locate  himself  on  a  neighboring  promontory,  which  to  this  day- 
bears  the  name  of  Ingolfrshofde.  Here  he  sojourned  three  years,  until  the  fol- 
lowers he  had  sent  out  in  quest  of  the  missing  23illars  at  length  brought  him  the 
joyful  news  that  they  had  been  found  on  the  beach  of  the  present  site  of  Reyk- 
javik, whither,  in  obedience  to  what  he  supposed  to  be  the  divine  summons,  he 
instantly  removed.  Ingolfr's  friend  and  relative  Leif  was  shortly  after-  assas- 
sinated by  some  Irish  slaves  whom  he  had  captured  in  a  predatory  descent  on 
the  Hibernian  coast.  The  surviving  chieftain  deplored  the  loss  of  his  kinsman, 
lamenting  "  that  so  valiant  a  man  should  fall  by  such  villains,"  but  found  conso- 
lation by  killing  the  murderers  and  annexing  the  lands  of  their  victim.  When, 
in  course  of  time,  he  himself  felt  his  end  approaching,  he  requested  to  be  bur- 
ied on  a  hill  overlooking  the  fiord,  that  from  that  elevated  site  his  spirit  might 
have  a  better  view  of  the  land  of  which  he  was  the  first  inhabitant. 

Such  are  the  chronicles  related  in  the  "  Landnama  Bok,"  or  "  Book  of  Occu- 
pation," one  of  the  earliest  records  of  Icelandic  history. 

Ingolfr  and  his  companions  were  soon  followed  by  other  emigrants  desirous 
of  escaping  from  the  tyranny  of  Harold  Haarfager,  who  at  first  favored  a  move- 
ment that  removed  far  beyond  the  sea  so  many  of  his  turbulent  opponents,  but 
subsequently,  alarmed  at  the  drain  of  population,  or  desirous  of  profiting  by'  the 
exodus,  levied  a  fine  of  four  ounces  of  silver  on  all  who  left  his  dominions  to 
settle  in  Iceland.  Yet  such  were  the  attractions  which  the  island  at  tha!  time 
presented,  that,  in  spite  of  all  obstacles,  not  half  a  century  elapsed  before  all  its 
inhabitable  parts  were  occupied,  not  only  by  Norwegians,  but  also  by  settlers 
from  Denmark  and  Sweden,  Scotland  and  Ireland. 

The  Norwegians  brought  Avith  them  their  language  and  idolatry,  their  cus- 
toms and  historical  records,  which  the  other  colonists,  but  few  in  numbers,  were 
compelled  to  adopt.  At  first  the  udal,  or  free  land-hold  system  of  their  OAvn 
country,  was  in  vigor,  but  every  leader  of  a  band  of  emigrants  being  chosen,  by 
force  of  circumstances,  as  the  acknowledged  chief  of  the  district  occupied  by 
himself  and  companions,  speedily  paved  the  way  for  a  demi-feudal  system  of 
vassalage  and  subservience.  As  the  arrival  of  new  settlers  rendered  the  pos- 
session of  the  land  more  valuable,  endless  contests  between  these  petty  chiefs 
arose  for  the  better  pastures  and  fisheries.  To  put  an  end  to  this  state  of  an- 
archy, so  injurious  to  the  common  weal,  Ulfliot  the  Wise  was  commissioned  to 
frame  a  code  of  laws,  which  the  Icelanders,  by  a  single  simultaneous  and  peace- 
ful effort,  accepted  as  their  future  constitution. 

The  island  was  now  divided  into  four  provinces  and  twelve  districts.  Each 
district  had  its  own  judge,  and  its  own  popular  "  Thing,"  or  assembly ;  but  the 
national  will  was  embodied  and  represented  by  the  "Althing,"  or  supreme 
parliament  of  Iceland,  which  annually  met  at  Thingvalla,  under  an  elective  pres- 
ident, or  "  Logmathurman,"  the  chief  magistrate  of  this  northern  republic. 

On  the  banks  of  the  river  Oxeraa,  where  the  rapid  stream,  after  forming  a 
magnificent  cascade,  rushes  into  the  lake  of  Thingvalla,  lies  the  spot  where,  for 
many  a  century,  freemen  met  to  debate,  while  despotic  barbarians  still  reigned 
over  the  milder  regions  of  Europe.  Isolated  on  all  sides  by  deep  volcanic 
chasms,  which  some  great  revolution  of  nature  has  rent  in  the  vast  lava-field 


THE    POLAR   WORLD. 


THINGVALLA,  LOGBERG,  AND  ALMANNAGJA. 


avound,  and  embosomed  in  a  wide  cii'cle  of  black  j^recipitous  hills,  the  situation 
of  Thingvalla  is  extremely  romantic,  but  the  naked  dark-colored  rocks,  and  the 
traces  of  subterranean  fire  visible  on  every  side,  impart  a  stern  melancholy  to 
the  scene.  The  lake,  the  largest  sheet  of  water  in  the  island,  is  about  thirty 
miles  in  circumference ;  its  boundaries  have  undergone  many  changes,  especial- 
ly during  the  earthquakes  of  the  past  century,  when  its  northern  margin  col- 
lapsed, while  the  opposite  one  was  raised.  The  depth  of  its  crystal  waters  is 
very  great,  and  in  its  centre  rise  two  small  crater-islands,  the  result  of  some  un- 
known eruption.  The  mountains  on  its  south  bank  have  a  picturesque  appear- 
ance, and  large  volumes  of  steam  issuing  from  several  hot  sources  on  their 
sides  prove  that,  though  all  be  tranquil  now,  the  volcanic  fires  are  not  extinct. 
Only  a  few  traces  of  the  ancient  Althing  are  left— three  femall  mounds,  where 
sat  in  state  the  chiefs  and  judges  of  the  land— for  as  the  assembly  used  to  pitch 
their  tents  on  the  borders  of  the  stream,  and  the  deliberations  were  held  in  the 
open  air,  there  are  no  imposing  riiins  to  bear  witness  to  a  glorious  past.  But 
though  all  architectural  pomp  be  absent,  the  scene  hallowed  by  the  recollections 
of  a  thousand  years  is  one  of  deep  interest  to  the  traveller.  The  great  features 
of  nature  are  the  same  as  when  the  freemen  of  Iceland  assembled  to  settle  the 
affairs  of  their  little  world  ;  but  the  raven  now  croaks  where  the  orator  appealed 
to  the  reason  or  the  passions  of  his  audience,  and  the  sheep  of  the  neighboring 
pastor  crop  imdisturbed  the  grass  of  desecrated  Thingvalla. 

Mr.  Ross  Browne  thus  describes  the  scene  :  "  After  a  slight  repast  I  walked 
out  to  take  a  look  at  the  Logberg,  or  Rock  of  Laws,  which  is  situated  about 


HISTORY  OF  ICELAND.  93 

half  a  mile  from  the  church.  This  is,  perhaps,  of  all  the  objects  of  historical 
association  in  Iceland,  the  most  interesting.  It  Avas  here  the  judges  tried  crim- 
inals, pronounced  judgments,  and  executed  their  stern  decrees.  On  a  small  pla- 
teau of  lava,  separated  from  the  general  mass  by  a  profound  abyss  on  every 
side,  save  a  narrow  neck  barely  wide  enough  for  a  foothold,  the  famous  "  Thing  " 
assembled  once  a  year,  and,  secured  from  intrusion  in  their  deliberations  by  the 
terrible  chasm  around,  passed  laws  for  the  weal  or  woe  of  the  people.  It  was 
only  necessary  to  guard  the  causeway  by  which  they  entered ;  all  other  sides 
were  well  protected  by  the  encircUng  moat,  which  varies  from  thirty  to  forty 
feet  in  width,  and  is  half  filled  with  water.  The  total  depth  to  the  bottom, 
which  is  distinctly  visible  through  the  crystal  pool,  must  be  sixty  or  seventy 
feet.  Into  this  yawning  abyss  the  unhappy  criminals  were  cast,  with  stones 
around  their  necks,  and  many  a  long  day  did  they  He  beneath  the  Avater,  a 
ghastly  spectacle  for  the  crowd  that  peered  at  them  over  the  precipice. 
All  was  now  as  silent  as  the  grave.  Eight  centuries  had  passed,  and  yet 
the  strange  scenes  that  had  taken  place  here  were  vividly  before  me.  I 
could  imagine  the  gathering  crowds,  the  rising  hum  of  voices ;  the  pause, 
the  shriek,  and  plunge  ,•  the  low  murmur  of  horror,  and  then  the  stei-n  warn- 
ing of  the  lawgivers  and  the  gradual  dispersing  of  the  multitude.  The  di- 
mensions of  the  plateau  are  four  or  five  hundred  feet  in  length  by  an  aver- 
age of  sixty  or  eighty  in  width.  The  surface  is  now  covered  with  a  fine 
coating  of  sod  and  grass^  and  furnishes  good  pasturage  for  the  sheep  belong- 
ing to  the  pastor." 

Christianity  was  first  preached  in  Iceland  about  the  year  981,  by  Friedrich,  a 
Saxon  bishop,  to  whom  Thorwald  the  traveller,  an  Icelander,  acted  as  inter- 
preter. Thorwald  having  been  treated  with  great  severity  l)y  his  father,  Ko- 
dran,  had  fled  to  Denmark,  where  he  had  been  converted  by  Friedrich.  He 
returned  with  the  pious  bishop  to  his  paternal  home,  where  the  solemn  service 
of  the  Christians  made  some  impression  on  Kodran,  but  still  the  obstinate  pa- 
gan could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  renounce  his  ancient  gods.  "  He  must  be- 
lieve," said  he, "  the  word  of  his  own  priest,  who  was  wont  to  give  him  excel- 
lent advice."  "  Well,  then,"  replied  Thorwald,  "  this  venerable  man  whom  I 
have  brought  to  thy  dwelling  is  weak  and  infirm,  while  thy  well-fed  priest  is 
full  of  vigor.  Wilt  thou  believe  in  the  power  of  our  God  if  the  bishop  drives 
him  hence  ?"  Friedrich  now  cast  a  few  drops  of  holy  water  on  the  priest,  which 
immediately  burnt  deep  holes^  into  his  skin,  so  that  he  fled,  uttering  dreadful 
curses.  After  this  convincing  proof,  Kodran  adopted  the  Christian  faith.  But 
persuasion  and  miracles  acted  too  slowly  for  the  fiery  Thorwald,  who  would 
willingly  have  converted  all  Iceland  at  once  with  fire  and  sword.  His  sermons 
were  imprecations,  and  the  least  contradiction  roused  him  to  fury.  Unable  to 
bear  so  irascible  an  associate,  the  good  bishop  Friedrich,  giving  up  his  mission- 
ary labors,  returned  to  Saxony.  As  to  Thorwald,  his  restless  disposition  led 
him  to  far-distant  lands.  He  visited  Greece  and  Syria,  Jerusalem  and  Constan- 
tinople, and  ultimately  founded  a  convent  in  Russia,  where  he  died  in  the  odor 
of  sanctity. 

Soon  after  Thangbrand  was  sent  by  the  Norwegian  king,  Olaf  Truggcson,  as 


94  THE   POLxVR   WORLD. 

missionary  to  Icelaiid.  His  method  of  conversion  appears  to  have  been  very- 
like  that  of  his  erratic  predecessor ;  for  while  he  held  the  cross  in  one  hand,  he 
grasped  the  sword  with  the  other.  "  Thangbrand,"  says  an  ancient  chronicler, 
"  was  a  passionate,  ungovernable  person,  and  a  great  manslayer,  but  a  good 
scholar  and  clever.  He  was  two  years  in  Iceland,  and  was  the  death  of  three 
men  before  he  left  it." 

Other  missionaries  of  a  more  evangelical  character  took  his  place,  and  proved 
by  their  success  that  mild  reasoning  is  frequently  a  far  more  effectual  means  of 
persuasion  than  brutal  violence.  They  made  a  great  number  of  proselytes,  and 
the  Avhole  island  was  now  divided  into  two  factions  ready  to  appeal  to  the 
sword  for  the  triumph  of  Christ  or  of  Odin.  But  before  coming  to  this  dread- 
ful extremity,  the  voice  of  reason  was  heard,  and  the  contending  parties  agreed 
to  submit  the  question  to  the  decision  of  the  Althing. 

The  assembly  met,  and  the  momentous  debate  was  proceeding,  when  sud- 
denly a  loud  crash  of  subterranean  thunder  was  heard,  and  the  earth  shook  un- 
der their  feet.  "  Listen  !"  exclaimed  a  follower  of  Odin, "  and  beware  of  the 
anger  of  our  gods :  they  will  consume  us  with  their  fires,  if  we  venture  to  ques- 
tion their  authority."  The  Christian  party  hesitated  ;  but  their  confidence  was 
soon  restored  by  the  presence  of  mind  of  their  chief  orator,  Thorgeir,  who, 
pointing  to  the  lava-fields  around,  asked  with  M'hom  the  gods  were  angry  when 
these  rocks  were  melted  :  a  burst  of  eloquence  which  at  once  decided  the  ques- 
tion in  favor  of  the  Cross. 

The  new  faith  brought  with  it  a  new  spirit  of  intellectual  development,  which 
attained  its  highest  splendor  in  the  twelfth  century.  Classical  studies  were 
pursued  with  the  utmost  zeal,  and  learned  Icelanders  travelled  to  Germany  and 
France  to  extend  their  knowledge  in  the  schools  of  Paris  or  Cologne.  The 
Icelandic  bards,  or  scalds,  were  renowned  throughout  all  Scandinavia ;  they  fre- 
quented the  courts  of  Sweden,  Denmark,  and  Norway,  and  were  everywhere 
received  with  the  highest  honors. 

The  historians,  or  sagamen,  of  Iceland  were  no  less  renowned  than  its  scalds. 
They  became  the  annalists  of  the  whole  Scandinavian  world,  and  the  simplicity 
and  truth  by  which  their  works  are  distinguished  fully  justify  their  high  repu- 
tation. Among  the  many  remarkable  men  who  at  that  time  graced  the  litera- 
ture of  the  Arctic  isle,  Samund  Frode,  the  learned  author  of  the  "  Voluspa " 
(a  work  on  the  ancient  Icelandic  mythology)  and  the  "Havamal"  (a  general 
chronicle  of  events  from  the  bieginning  of  the  world) ;  Are  Thorgilson,  whose 
"Landnama  Bok"  relates  with  the  utmost  accuracy  the  annals  of  his  native 
land  ;  and  Gissur,  who  about  the  year  1180  described  his  A'oyages  to  the  distant 
Orient,  deserve  to  be  particularly  mentioned  ;  but  great  above  all  in  genius  and 
fame  was  Snorri  Stui'leson,  the  Herodotus  of  the  North,  whose  eventful  life  and 
tragic  end  would  well  deserve  to  be  recounted  at  greater  length. 

Gifted  with  the  rarest  talents,  and  chief  of  the  most  powerful  family  of  the 
island,  Snorri  was  elected  in  1215  to  the  high  office  of  Logmathurman  ;  but  dis- 
gusting his  sturdy  countrymen  by  his  excessive  haughtiness,  he  was  obliged  to 
retire  to  the  court  of  Hakon,  king  of  Norway.  During  this  exile  he  collected 
the  materials  for  his  justly  celebrated  "  Heimskringla,"'  or  Chronicle  of  the 


HISTORY    OF   ICELAND.  95 

Kings  of  Norway.  Returniug  home  in  1221,  he  was  again  named  Logmathur- 
man ;  but  as  he  endeavored  to  pave  the  way  for  the  annexation  of  his  native 
country  to  the  Norwegian  realm,  his  foreign  intrigues  caused  a  rising  against 
his  authority,  and  he  was  once  more  compelled  to  take  refuge  in  Norway. 
Here  he  remained  several  years,  until  the  triumph  of  his  own  faction  allowed 
him  to  return  to  his  family  estate  at  Reikholt,  where  he  was  murdered  on  a 
dark  September  night  in  the  year  1241.  Thus  perished  the  most  remarkable 
man  Iceland  ever  has  produced.  The  republic  itself  did  not  long  survive  his 
fall ;  for,  weary  of  the  interminable  feuds  of  their  chiefs,  the  people  voluntarily 
submitted  to  Hakon  in  1254,  and  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century  was 
signalized  by  the  transfer  of  the  island  to  the  Norwegian  crown,  after  three 
hundred  and  forty  years  of  a  turbulent  but  glorious  independence. 

From  that  time  the  political  history  of  the  Icelanders  offers  but  little  inter- 
est. With  their  annexation  to  a  European  monarchy  perished  the  vigor,  rest- 
lessness, and  activity  which  had  characterized  their  forefathers  ;  and  though 
the  Althing  still  met  at  Thingvalla,  the  national  spirit  had  fled.  It  was  still 
further  subdued  by  a  long  chain  of  calamities — plagues,  famines,  volcanic  erup- 
tions, and  piratical  invasions — which,  following  each  other  in  rapid  succession, 
devastated  the  land  and  decimated  its  unfortunate  inhabitants. 

In  1402  that  terrible  plague,  the  memory  of  which  is  still  preserved  xinder 
the  name  of  the  "  Black  Death,"  carried  off  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  whole  pop- 
ulation, and  was  followed  by  such  an  inclement  Avinter  that  nine-tenths  of  the 
cattle  in  the  island  died.  The  miseries  of  a  people  suffering  from  pestilence 
and  famine  were  aggravated  by  the  English  fishermen,  who,  in  spite  of  the  re- 
monstrances of  the  Danish  government,  frequented  the  defenseless  coast  in  con- 
siderable numbers,  and  were  in  fact  little  better  than  the  old  sea-robbers  who 
first  colonized  the  island,  plundering  and  burning  on  the  main,  and  holding  the 
Avealthy  inhabitants  to  ransom.  Their  predatory  incursions  were  frequently  re- 
peated during  the  seventeenth  century,  and  even  the  distant  Mediterranean  sent 
its  Algerine  pirates  to  add  to  the  calamities  of  Iceland. 

The  eighteenth  century  was  ushered  in  by  the  small-pox,  which  carried  off 
sixteen  thousand  of  the  inhabitants.  In  the  middle  of  the  dentury — severe  win- 
ters following  in  rapid  succession — vast  numbers  of  cattle  died,  inducing  a  fam- 
ine that  again  swept  away  ten  thousand  inhabitants. 

Since  the  first  colonization  of  Iceland,  its  numerous  volcanoes  had  frequently 
brought  ruin  upon  whole  districts — twenty-five  times  had  Hecla,  eleven  times 
Kotlugia,  six  times  TroUadyngja,  five  times  Oraefa,  vomited  forth  their  tor- 
rents of  molten  stone,  without  counting  a  number  of  submarine  volcanic  explo- 
sions, or  where  the  plain  was  suddenly  rent  and  flames  and  ashes  burst  out  of 
the  earth;  but  the  eruption  of  Skaptar  Jokul  in  1783  was  the  most  fj-ightful 
visitation  ever  known  to  have  desolated  the  island.  The  preceding  winter  and 
spring  had  been  unusually  mild,  and  the  islanders  looked  forward  to  a  prosper- 
ous summer ;  but  in  the  beginning  of  June  repealipd  tremblings  of  the  earth, 
increasing  in  violence  from  day  to  day,  announced  that  the  subterranean  powers 
that  had  long  been  slumbering  under  the  icy  mantle  of  the  Skaptar  were  ready 
to  awake.     All  the  neighboring  peasants  abandoned  their  huts  and  erected 


96  THE  POLAR   WORLD. 

tents  in  the  open  field,  anxiously  awaiting  the  result  of  these  terrific  warnings. 
On  the  9th,  immense  pillars  of  smoke  collected  over  the  hill  country  toward  the 
north,  and,  rolling  down  in  a  southerly  direction,  covered  the  whole  district  of 
Sitha  with  darkness.  Loud  subterranean  thunders  followed  in  rapid  succession, 
and  innumerable  fire-spouts  were  seen  leaping  and  flaring  through  the  dense 
canopy  of  smoke  and  ashes  that  enveloped  the  land.  The  heat  raging  in  the 
interior  of  the  volcano  melted  enormous  masses  of  ice  and  snow,  which  caused 
the  river  Skapta  to  rise  to  a  prodigious  height;  but  on  the  11th  torrents  of 
fire  usurped  the  place  of  water,  for  a  vast  lava-stream  breaking  forth  from  the 
mountains,  flowed  down  in  a  southerly  direction,  until  reaching  the  river,  a  tre- 
mendous conflict  arose  between  the  two  hostile  elements.  Though  the  channel 
Avas  six  hundred  feet  deep  and  two  hundred  feet  wide,  the  lava-flood  pouring 
down  one  fiery  wave  after  another  into  the  yawning  abyss,  ultimately  gained 
the  victory,  and,  blocking  up  the  stream,  overflowed  its  banks.  Crossing  the 
low  country  of  Medalland,  it  poured  into  a  great  lake,  which  after  a  few  days 
was  likewise  completely  filled  up,  and  having  divided  into  two  streams,  the  un- 
exhausted torrent  again  poured  on,  overflowing  in  one  direction  some  ancient 
lava-fields,  and  in  another  re-entering  the  channel  of  the  Skapta  and  leaping 
dow^n  the  lofty  cataract  of  Stapafoss.  But  this  was  not  all,  for  while  one  lava- 
flood  had  chosen  the  Skapta  for  its  bed,  another,  descending  in  a  different  direc- 
tion, was  working  similar  ruin  along  the  banks  of  the  Hverfisfliot.  Whether 
the  same  crater  gave  birth  to  both,  it  is  impossible  to  say,  as  even  the  extent 
of  the  lava-flow  can  only  Be  measured  fi-om  the  spot  wiiere  it  entered  the  in- 
habited districts.  The  stream  which  followed  the  direction  of  Skapta  is  calcu- 
lated to  have  been  about  fifty  miles  in  length  by  twelve  or  fifteen  at  its  great- 
est breadth ;  that  which  rolled  down  the  Hverfisfliot,  at  forty  miles  in  length 
by  seven  in  breadth. 

Where  it  was  inclosed  between  the  precipitous  banks  of  the  Skapta,  the 
lava  is  five  or  six  hundred  feet  thick,  but  as  soon  as  it  spread  out  into  the  plain 
its  depth  never  exceeded  one  hundred  feet.  The  eruption  of  sand,  ashes, 
pumice,  and  lava  continued  till  the  end  of  August,  when  at  length  the  vast  sub- 
terranean tumult  subsided. 

But  its  direful  effects  were  felt  for  a  long  time  after,  not  only  in  its  imme- 
diate vicinity,  but  over  the  whole  of  Iceland,  and  added  many  a  mournful  page 
to  her  long  annals  of  sorrow.  For  a  whole  year  a  dun  canopy  of  cinder-laden 
clouds  hung  over  the  unhappy  island.  Sand  and  ashes,  carried  to  an  enormous 
height  into  the  atmosphere,  spread  far*  and.  wide,  and  overwhelmed  thousands 
of  acres  of  fertile  pasturage.  The  Faeroes,  the  Shetlands,  and  the  Orkneys 
were  deluged  with  volcanic  dust  which  perceptibly  contaminated  even  the  skies 
of  England  and  Holland.  Mephitic  vapors  obscured  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and 
the  sulphurous  exhalations  tainted  both  the  grass  of  the  field  and  the  waters 
of  the  lake,  the  river,  and  the  sea,  so  that  not  only  the  cattle  died  by  thousands, 
but  the  fish  also  perished  in,  their  poisoned  element.  The  unhealthy  air,  and 
the  want  of  food — for  hunger  at  last  drove  them  to  have  recourse  to  untanned 
hides  and  old  leather — gave  rise  to  a  disease  resembling  scurvy  among  the  un- 
fortunate Icelanders.     The  head  and  limbs  began  to  swell,  the  bones  seemed 


HISTORY    OF    ICELAND.  97 

to  be  distending.  Dreadful  cramjjs  forced  tlie  patient  to  strange  contortions. 
The  gums  loosened,  the  decomposed  blood  oozed  from  the  mouth  and  the  ulcer- 
ous skin,  and  a  few  days  of  torment  and  prostration  were  followed  by  death. 

In  many  a  secluded  vale  wliole  families  were  swept  away,  and  those  that  es- 
caped the  scourge  had  hardly  strength  sufficient  to  bury  the  dead. 

So  great  was  the  ruin  caused  by  this  one  eruption  that  in  the  short  space  of 
two  years  no  less  than  9336  men,  28,000  horses,  11,461  cattle,  and  190,000 
sheep — a  large  proportion  of  the  wealth  and  population  of  the  island — were 
swept  away. 

After  this  dreadful  catastrophe  followed  a  long  period  of  volcanic  rest,  for 
the  next  eruption  of  the  Eyjafialla  did  not  take  place  before  1821.  A  twelfth 
eruption  of  Kotlugja  occurred  in  1823,  the  twenty-sixth  of  Ilecla  in  1845-46  ; 
and  ultimately  the  thirteenth  of  Kotlugja  in  1860.  Since  then  there  has  been 
repose ;  but  who  knows  what  futui-e  disasters  may  be  preparing  beneath  those 
icy  ridges  and  fields  of  snow  of  Skapta  and  his  frowning  compeers,  where  no 
human  foot  has  ever  wandered,  or  how  soon  they  may  awaken  their  dormant 
thunders  ? 

Besides  the  sufferings  caused  by  the  elements,  the  curse  of  monopoly 
weighed  for  many  a  long  year  upon  the  miserable  Icelanders.  The  Danish 
kings,  to  whom  on  the  amalgamation  of  the  three  Scandinavian  monarchies  the 
allegiance  of  the  people  of  Iceland  was  j^assively  transferred,  considered  their 
poor  dependency  as  a  private  domain,  to  be  farmed  out  to  the  highest  bidder. 
In  the  16th  century  the  Haiiseatic  Towns  purchased  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
trading  with  Iceland;  and  in  1594  a  Danish  company  was  favored  with  the 
monopoly,  for  which  it  had  to  pay  the  paltry  sum  of  16  rix-dollars  for  each  of 
the  ports  of  the  island. 

In  the  year  1862  a  new  company  paid  4000  dollars  for  the  Icelandic  mo- 
nopoly ;  bvit  at  the  expiration  of  the  contract,  each  of  the  ports  Avere  farmed  out 
to  the  highest  bidder — a  financial  improvement  which  raised  the  revenue  to 
16,000  dollars  a  year,  and  ultimately  to  22,000.  The  incalculable  misery  pro- 
duced by  the  eruption  of  the  Skapta  had  at  least  the  beneficial  consequence 
that  it  somewhat  loosened  the  bonds  of  monopoly,  as  it  now  became  free  to 
every  Danish  merchant  to  trade  with  the  island;  but  it  is  only  since  April,  1855, 
that  the  last  restrictions  have  fallen  and  the  ports  of  Iceland  been  opened  to 
the  merchants  of  all  nations.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  beneficial  effects  of 
free  trade  will  gradually  heal  the  wounds  caused  by  centuries  of  neglect  and 
misfortune ;  but  great  progress  must  be  made  before  Iceland  can  attain  the  de- 
gree of  prosperity  which  she  enjoyed  in  the  times  of  her  independence. 

Then  she  had  above  a  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  now  she  has  scarcely 
half  that  number ;  then  she  had  many  rich  and  powerful  families,  now  medioc- 
rity or  poverty  is  the  universal  lot ;  then  she  Avas  renowned  all  over  the  Xorth 
as  the  seat  of  learning  and  the  cradle  of  literature,  now,  were  it  not  for  her  re- 
markable physical  features,  no  traveller  n'ould  ever  think  of  landing  on  her 


THE    POLAR  WORLD, 


KEYKJAVIK,  THE   CAPITAL   OF  ICELAND. 


C^HAPTER  VII. 

THE    ICELANDERS. 

Skalholt.— Reykjavik.— The  Fair.  — The  Peasant 
and  the  Merchant. — A  Clergyman  in  his  Cups. 
— Haj'-niaking. — The  Icelander's  Hut. — Church- 
es.—Poverty  of  the  Clergy.— Jon  Thorlaksen. 
— The  Seminary  of  Reykjavik. — Beneficial  Influ- 
ence of  the  Clergy. — Home  Education. — The  Ice- 
lander's Winter's  Evening. — Taste  for  Literature. 
— The  Language. — The  Public  Library'  at  Reyk- 
javik.— The  Icelandic  Literary  Society. — Icelandic  Newspapers. — Longevity. — Leprosy.— Travelling 
in  Iceland.— Fording  the  Rivers.— Crossing  of  the  Skeidara  by  Mr.  Holland.— A  Night's  Bivouac. 

"VTEXT  to  Thingvalla,  there  is  no  place  in  Iceland  so  replete  with  historical 
interest  as  Skalholt,  its  ancient  capital.  Here  in  the  eleventh  century  was 
founded  the  first  school  in  the  island  ;  here  was  the  seat  of  its  first  bishops ; 
here  flourished  a  succession  of  great  orators,  historians,  and  poets ;  Isleif,  the 
oldest  chronicler  of  the  North ;  Gissur,  who  in  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth 
century  had  visited  all  the  countries  of  Europe  and  spoke  all  their  languages ; 
the  philologian  Thorlak,  and  Finnur  Johnson,  the  learned  author  of  the  "  Ec- 
clesiastical History  of  Iceland."  The  Cathedral  of  Skalholt  was  renowned  far 
and  wide  for  its  size,  and  in  the  year  1100,  Latin,  poetry, -music,  and  rhetoric, 
the  four  liberal  arts,  were  taught  in  its  school,  more  than  they  were  at  that  time 


THE   ICELANDERS. 


99 


in  many  of  the  large  European  cities.  As  a  proof  how  early  the  study  of  the 
ancients  flowrished  in  Skalholt,  we  find  it  recorded  that  in  the  twelfth  century 
a  bishop  once  caught  a  scholar  reading  Ovid's  "»Art  of  Love ;"  and  as  the  story 
relates  that  the  venerable  pastor  flew  into  a  violent  passion  at  the  sight  of  the 
unholy  book,  Ave  may  without  injustice  conclude  that  he  must  have  read  it  him- 
self in  some  of  his  leisure  hours,  to  know  its  character  so  well. 

Of  all  its  past  glories,  Skalholt  has  retained  nothing  but  its  name.  The 
school  and  the  bishopric  have  been  removed,  the  old  church  has  disappeared, 
and  been  replaced  by  a  small  wooden  building,  in  which  divine  service  is  held 
once  a  month  ;  three  cottages  contain  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  once  celebrated 
city,  and  the  extensive  churchyard  is  the  only  memorial  of  its  foi-mer  impor- 
tance. Close  by  are  the  ruins  of  the  old  school-house,  and  on  the  spot  where  the 
bishop  resided  a  peasant  has  erected  his  miserable  hovel. 

But  the  ever-changing  tide  of  human  affairs  has  not  bereft  the  now  lonely 
place  of  its  natural  charms,  for  the  meadow-lands  of  Skalholt  are  beautifully  im- 
bedded in  an  undulating  range  of  hills,  overlooking  the  junction  of  the  Bruara 
and  Huita,  and  backed  by  a  magnificent  theatre  of  mountains,  among  which 
Hecla  and  the  Eyjafialla  are  the  most  prominent. 


iwi'^i^''«™™i 


governor's   residence,  REYKJAVIK. 


Reykjavik,  the  present  capital  of  the  island,  has  risen  into  importance  at  the 
expense  both  of  Skalholt  and  Thingvalla.  At  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury the  courts  of  justice  were  transferred  from  the  ancient  seat  of  legislature 
to  the  new  metropolis,  and  in  1797  the  bishoprics  of  Hoolum  and  Skalholt, 
united  into  one,  had  their  seats  likewise  transferred  to  Reykjavik.  The  ancient 
school  of   Skalholt,  after  having  first  migrated  to   Bessestadt,  has  also  been 


100  TliE   POLAR  TVORLD. 

obliged  to  follow  the  centralizing  tendency,  so  powerful  in  our  times,  and  now 
contributes  to  the  rising  fortunes  of  the  small  sea-port  town. 

But  in  spite  of  all  these  accessions,  the  first  aspect  of  Reykjavik  by  no  means 
corresponds  to  our  ideas  of  a  capital.  "  The  town,"  says  Lord  Dufferin,  "  con- 
sists of  a  collection  of  wooden  sheds,  one  story  high — rising  here  and  there  into 
a  gable  end  of  greater  pretensions — built  along  the  lava-track,  and  flanked  at 
either  end  by  a  suburb  of  turf  huts.  On  every  side  of  it  extends  a  desolate 
plain  of  lava  that  once  must  have  boiled  up  red-hot  from  some  distant  gateway 
of  hell,  and  fallen  hissing  into  the  sea.  No  tree  or  bush  relieves  the  dreariness 
of  the  landscape,  and  the  mountains  are  too  distant  to  serve  as  a  background  to 
the  buildings ;  but  Ibefore  the  door  of  each  merchant's  house  facing  the  sea 
there  flies  a  gay  little  pennon ;  and  as  you  walk  along  the  silent  streets,  whose 
dust  no  carriage-wheel  has  ever  desecrated,  the  rows  of  flower-pots  that  peep  out 
of  the  Avindows,  between  curtains  of  white  muslin^  at  once  convince  you  that, 
notwithstanding  their  unpretending  appearance,  within  each  dwelling  reign  the 
elegance  and  comfort  of  a  woman-tended  home." 

Twenty  years  since,  Reykjavik  was  no  better  than  a  wretched  fishing-village, 
now  it  already  numbers  1400  inhabitants,  and  free-trade  promises  it  a  still 
greater  increase  for  the  future.  It  owes  its  prosperity  chiefly  to  its  excellent 
port,  and  to  the  abundance  of  fish-banks  in  its  neighborhood,  which  have  induced 
the  Danish  merchants  to  make  it  their  principal  settlement.  Most  of  them,  how- 
ever, merely  visit  it  in  summer  like  birds  of  passage,  arriving  in  May  with  small 
cargoes  of  foreign  goods,  and  leaving  it  aga!in  in  August,  after  having  disposed 
of  their  wares.  Thus  Reykjavik  must  be  lonely  and  dreary  enough  in  winter, 
when  no  trade  animates  its  port,  and  no  traveller  stays  at  its  solitary  inn  ;  but 
the  joy  of  the  inhabitants  is  all  the  greater  when  the  return  of  spring  re-opens 
their  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  the  Avorld,  and  the  delight  may  be  imagined 
with  which  they  hail  the  first  ship  that  brings  them  the  long-expected  news  from 
Europe,  and  perhaps  some  wealthy  tourist,  eager  to  admire  the  wonders  of  the 
Geysirs, 

The  most  busy  time  of  the  town  is,  however,  the  beginning  cf  July,  when  the 
annual  fair  attracts  a  great  number  of  fishermen  and  peasants  within  its  walls. 
From  a  distance  of  forty  and  fifty  leagues  around,  they  come  with  long  trains 
of  pack-horses ;  their  stock-fish  slung  freely  across  the  animals'  backs,  their 
more  damageable  articles  close  pressed  and  packed  in  boxes  or  skin  bags. 

The  greater  part  of  the  trade  in  this  and  other  small  sea-ports — such  as 
Akreyri,  IIafnafjord,Eyrarbacki,  Berufjord,  Vapnafjord,  Isafjord,  Grafaros,Bu. 
denstadt,  which,  taken  all  together,  do  not  equal  Reykjavik  in  trafiic  and  pop- 
ulation— is  carried  on  by  barter.* 

Sometimes  the  Icelander  desires  to  be  paid  in  specie  for  part  of  his  produce, 
but  then  he  is  obliged  to  bargain  for  a  long  time  with  the  merchant,  who  of 
course  derives  a  double  profit  by  an  exchange  of  goods,  and  is  loth  to  part  with 

*  In  1855,  Iceland  imported,  among  others,  65,712  pieces  of  timber,  148,038  lbs.  of  iron,  37,700  lbs. 
hemp,  15,179  fishing-lines,  20,342  lbs.  salt,  6539  tons  of  coal. 

The  chief  exportations  of  the  same  year  were,  tallow,  932,906  lbs.,  wool,  1,569,323  lbs.,  69,305  pairsof 
stockings,  27,109  pairs  of  gloves,  12,712  salted  sheepskins,  4110  lbs.  eider-downs,  25,000  lbs.  other  feath- 
ers. 244  horses,  and  24,079  ship's  pounds  (the  sbii)'s  p  'und  =  320  lbs.)  salt  fish. 


THE   ICELANDERS.  101 

his  hard  cash.  The  dollars  tlius  acquired  are  either  melted  down,  and  worked 
into  silver  massive  girdles,  which  in  point  of  execution  as  well  as  design  are  said, 
on  good  authority,*  to  be  equal  to  any  thing  of  the  kind  fashioned  by  English 
jewellers,  or  else  deposited  in  a  strong-box,  as  taxes  and  wages  are  all  paid  in 
produce,  and  no  Icelander  ever  thinks  of  investing  his  money  yi  stocks,  shares, 
or  debentures. 

He  is,  however,  by  no  means  so  ignorant  of  mercantile  affairs  as  to  strike  at 
once  a  bargain  with  the  Danish  traders.  Pitching  his  tent  before  the  town,  he 
first  pays  a  visit  to  all  the  merchants  of  the  place.  After  carefully  noting  their 
several  offers  (for  as  each  of  them  invariably  ti'eats  him  to  a  dram,  he  with 
some  justice  mistrusts  his  memory),  he  returns  to  his  caravan  and  makes  his 
calculations  as  well  as  his  somewhat  confused  brain  allows  him.  If  he  is  ac- 
companied by  his  wife,  her  opinion  of  course  is  decisive,  and  the  following 
morning  he  repairs  with  all  his  goods  to  the  merchant  who  has  succeeded  in 
gaining  his  confidence. 

After  the  business  has  been  concluded,  the  peasant  empties  one  glass  to  the 
merchant's  health,  another  to  a  happy  meeting  next  year,  a  third  to  the  king,  a 
fourth  because  three  have  been  drunk  already.  At  length,  after  many  embraces 
and  protestations  of  eternal  friendship,  he  takes  his  leave  of  the  merchant.  For- 
tunately there  is  no  thief  to  be  found  in  all  Iceland  ;  but  in  consequence  of  these 
repeated  libations,  one  parcel  has  not  been  Avell  packed,  another  negligently  at- 
tached to  the  horse,  and  thus  it  happens  that  the  poor  peasant's  track  is  not  un- 
frequently  marked  with  sugar,  coffee-beans,  salt,  or  -flour,  and  that  when  .he 
reaches  home,  he  finds  some  valuable  article  or  other  missing. 

It  would,  however,  be  doing  the  Icelanders  an  injustice  to  regard  them  as 
generally  intemperate ;  for  though  within  the  last  twelve  years  the  population 
has  increased  only  ten  per  cent.,  and  the  importation  of  brandy  thirty,  yet  the 
whole  quantity  of  spirits  consumed  in  the  island  amounts  to  less  than  three  bot- 
tles per  annum  for  each  individual,  and,  of  this  allowance,  the  people  of  Reykja- 
vik and  of  the  other  small  sea-ports  have  more  than  their  share,  while  many  of 
the  clergy  and  peasantry  in  the  remoter  districts  hardly  ever  taste  spirituous 
liquors.  Dr.  Hooker  mentions  the  extraordinary  effect  which  a  small  portion 
of  rum  produced  on  the  good  old  incumbent  of  Middalr,  whose  stomach  had 
been  accustomed  only  to  a  milk-diet  and  a  little  coffee.  "  He  begged  me," 
says  the  doctor,f  "  to  give  him  some  rum  to  bathe  his  wife's  breast ;  but  hav- 
ing applied  a  portion  of  it  to  that  purpose,,  he  drank  the  rest  without  being  at 
all  aware  of  its  strength,  which,  however,  had  no  other  effect  than  in  causing 
this  clerical  blacksmith,;];  with  his  lame  hip,  to  dance  in  the  most  ridiculous  man- 
ner in  front  of  the  house.  The  scene  afforded  a  great  source  of  merriment  to 
all  his  family  except  his  old  wife,  who  was  very  desirous  of  getting  him  to  bed, 
while  he  was  no  less  anxious  that  she  should  join  him  in  the  dance." 

Dr.  Hooker  justly  remarks  that  this  very  circumstance  is  a  convincing  proof 
how  unaccustomed  this  priest  was  to  spirituous  liquors,  as  the  quantity  taken 
could  not  have  exceeded  a  wine-glass  full. 

*  Barrow,  "Visit  to  Iceland,"  1834.  t  "  Journal  of  a  Tour  in  Iceland,"  p.  1V\ 

I  All  the  clergymen  arc  blacksmiths,  for  a  reason  that  will  h?  stated  hereafter. 


102  TIIE   POLAR   WORLD. 

After  his  visit  to  the  fair,  the  peasant  sets  about  hay-making,  Avhich  is  to  him 
the  great  business  of  the  year,  for  he  is  most  anxious  to  secure  winter  fodder  for 
his  cattle,  on  which  his  whole  prosperity  depends.  The  few  potatoes  and  tur- 
nips about  the  size  of  marbles,  or  the  cabbage  and  parsley,  which  he  may  chance 
to  cultivate,  arejiot  worth  mentioning  ;  grass  is  the  chief,  nay,  the  only  produce 
of  his  farm,  and  that  Heaven  may  grant  clear  sunshiny  days  for  hay-making  is 
now  his  daily  prayer. 

Every  person  capable  of  wielding  a  scythe  or  rake  is  pressed  into  the  work. 
The  best  hay  is  cut  from  the  ■"  t{m,"  a  sort  of  paddock  comprising  the  lands  ad- 
joining the  farm-house,  and  the  only  part  of  his  grounds  on  which  the  peasant 
bestows  any  attention,  for,  in  spite  of  the  paramount  importance  of  his  pasture- 
land,  he  does  but  little  for  its  improvement,  and  a  meadow  is  rarely  seen,  where 
the  useless  or  less  nutritious  herbs  are  not  at  least  as  abundant  as  those  of  a 
better  quality.  The  "  tun  "  is  encircled  by  a  turf  or  stone  wall,  and  is  seldom 
more  than  ten  acres  in  extent,  and  generally  not  more  than  two  or  three.  Its 
surface  is  usually  a  series  of  closely-packed  mounds,  Uke  graves,  most  unpleasant 
to  walk  over,  the  gutter,  in  some  places,  being  two  feet  in  depth  between  the 
mounds.  After  having  finished  with  the  "  tun,"  the  farmer  subjects  to  a  proc- 
ess of  cutting  all  the  broken  hillsides  and  boggy  undrained  swamps  that  lie 
near  his  dAvelling.  The  blades  of  the  scythes  are  very  short.  It  would  be  im- 
possible to  use  a  long-bladed  scythe,  owing  to  the  unevenness  of  the  ground. 

The  cutting  and  making  of  hay  is  carried  on,  when  the  weather  will  permit, 
through  all  the  twenty-four  hours  of  the  day.  When  the  hay  is  made  it  is  tied 
in  bundles  by  cords  and  thongs,  and  carried  away  by  ponies  to  the  earthen 
houses  prepared  for  it,  which  are  similar  to  and  adjoin  those  in  which  the  cattle 
are  stalled.  "  It  is  a  very  curious  sight,"  says  Mr.  Shepherd,  "  to  see  a  string 
of  hay-laden  ponies  returning  home.  Each  pony's  halter  is  made  fast  to  the 
tail  of  the  preceding  one,  and  the  little  animals  are  so  enveloped  in  their  bur- 
dens that  nothing  but  their  hoofs  and  the  connecting  ropes  are  visible,  and  they 
look  as  though  a  dozen  huge  haycocks,  feeling  themselves  sufficiently  made, 
were  crawling  off  to  their  resting-places." 

When  the  harvest  is  finished  the  farmer  treats  his  family  and  laborers  to  a 
substantial  supper,  consisting  of  mutton,  and  a  soup  of  milk  and  flour ;  and 
although  the  serious  and  taciturn  Icelander  has  perhaps  of  all  men  the  least 
taste  for  music  and  dancing,  yet  these  simple  feasts  are  distinguished  by  a  plac- 
id serenity,  no  less  pleasing  than. the  more  boisterous  mirth  displayed  at  a 
southern  vintage. 

Almost  all  labor  out-of-doors  now  ceases  for  the  rest  of  the  year.  A  thick 
mantle  of  snow  soon  covers  mountain  and  vale,  meadow  and  moor ;  with  every 
returning  day,  the  sim  pays  the  cold  earth  a  decreasing  visit,  until,  finally,  he 
hardly  appears  above  the  horizon  at  noon ;  the  wintry  storm  howls  over  the 
waste,  and  for  months  the  life  of  the  Icelander  is  confined  to  his  hut,  which 
frequently  is  but  a  few  degrees  better  than  that  of  the  filthy  Lap. 

Its  lower  part  is  built  of  rude  stones  to  about  the  height  of  four  feet,  and 
between  each  row  layers  of  turf  are  placed  with  great  regularity,  to  serve  in- 
stead of  mortar,  and  keep  out  the  wind,      A  roof  of  such  wood  as  can  be  pro- 


THE   ICELANDERS. 


103 


ICELANDIC  HOUSES. 


cured  rests  upon  tliese  walls,  and  is  covered  with  turf  and  sods.  On  one  side 
(generally  facing  the  south)  are  several  gable  ends  and  doors,  each  surmounted 
with  a  weather-cock.  These  are  the  entrances  to  the  dwelling-house  proper,  to 
the  smithy,  store-room,  cow-shed,  etc.  A  long  narrow  passage,  ^iark  as  pitch, 
and  redolent  of  unsavory  odors,  leads  to  the  several  apartments,  which  are  sep- 
arated from  each  other  by  thick  walls  of  turf,  each  having  also  its  own  roof,  so 
that  the  peasant's  dwelling  is  in  fact  a  conglomeration  of  low  huts,  which  some- 
times receive  their  light  through  small  windows  in  the  front,  but  more  frequent- 
ly through  holes  in  the  roof,  covered  with  a  piece  of  glass  or  skin.  The  floors 
are  of  stamped  earth  ;  the  hearth  is  made  of  a  few  stones  clumsily  piled  togeth- 
er ;  a  cask  or  barrel,  with  the  two  ends  knocked  out,  answers  the  purpose  of  a 
chimney,  or  else  the  smoke  is  allowed  to  escape  through  a  mere  hole  in  the  roof. 

The  thick  turf  walls,  the  dirty  floor,  the  personal  uncleanliness  of  the  inhab- 
itants, all  contribute  to  the  pollution  of  the  atmosphere.  No  piece  of  furniture 
seems  ever  to  have  been  cleaned  since  it  was  first  put  into  use ;  all  is  disorder 
and  confusion.  Ventilation  is  utterly  impossible,  and  the  whole  family,  fre- 
quently consisting  of  twenty  persons  or  more,  sleep  in  the  same  dormitory,  as 
well  as  any  strangers  who  may  happen  to  drop  in.  On  either  side  of  this 
apartment  are  bunks  three  or  four  feet  in  width,  on  which  the  sleepers  range 
themselves. 

Such  are  in  general  the  dwellings  of  the  farmers  and  clergy,  for  but  very 
few  of  the  more  wealthy  inhabitants  live  in  any  way  according  to  our  notions  of 
comfort,  while  the  cots  of  the  poor  fisherman  are  so  Avretched  that  one  can 
hardlv  believe  them  to  be  tenanted  by  human  beings. 


104  THE  POLAK  WORLD. 

The  fm-m-honses  are  frequently  isolated,  and,  on  account  of  tlieir  grass-cover- 
ed roofs  and  their  low  construction,  are  not  easily  distinguished  from  the  neigh- 
boring pastui'e-grounds  ;  where  four  or  five  of  th«m  ai'e  congregated  in  a  grassy 
plain,  they  are  dignified  with  the  name  of  a  village,  and  become  the  residence 
of  a  Ilrepstior,  or  parish  constable. 

Then  also  a  church  is  seldom  wanting,  which  however  is  distinguished  f  i-om 
the  low  huts  around  merely  by  'the  cross  planted  on  its  roof.  An  Icelandic 
house  of  prayer  is  generally  from  eight  to  ten  feet  wide,  and  from  eighteen  to 
twenty-four  long  ;  but  of  this  about  eight  feet  are  devoted  to  the  altar,  which  is 
divided  off  by  a  partition  stretching  across  the  church,  and  against  which  stands 
the  pulpit.  A  small  wooden  chest  or  cupboard,  placed  at  the  end  of  the  build- 
ing, between  two  very  small  square  windows  not  larger  than  a  common-sized 
pane  of  glass,  constitutes  the  communion-table,  over  which  is  generally  a  miser- 
able representation  of  the  Lord's  Supper  painted  on  Avood.  The  height  of  the 
walls,  Avhich  are  wainscoted,  is  about  six  feet,  and  from  them  large  wooden 
beams  stretch  across  from  side  to  side.  On  these  beams  are  placed  in  great 
disorder  a  quantity  of  old  Bibles,  psalters,  and  fragments  of  dirty  manuscripts. 
The  interior  of  the  roof,  the  rafters  of  which  rest  on  the  walls,  is  also  lined  with 
AVOod.  On  the  ri'ght  of  the  door,  under  which  one  is  obliged  to  stoop  consider- 
ably on  entering,  is  suspended  a  bell,  large  enough  to  make  an  intolerable  noise 
in  so  small  a  space.  A  few  benches  on  each  side  the  aisle,  so  crowded  together 
as  almost  to  touch  one  another,  and  affording  accommodation  to  thirty  or  forty 
persons  when  squeezed  very  tight,  leave  room  for  a  narrow  passage. 

These  churches,  besides  their  propei-  use,  are  also  made  to  answer  the  pur- 
pose of  the  caravanseras  of  the  East,  by  affording  a  night's  lodging  to  foreign 
tourists.  They  are  indeed  neither  free  from  dirt,  nor  from  bad  smells  ;  but 
the  stranger  is  still  far  better  off  tlwn  in  the  intolerable  atmosphere  of  a  peas- 
ant's hut. 

Mr.  Ross  BroAvne  thus  describes  the  church  and  parsonage  at  Thingvalla;' 
"  The  church  is  of  modern  construction,  and,  like  all  I  saAV  in  the  interior,  is 
made  of  wood,  painted  a  dark  color,  and  roofed  with  boards  covered  with  sheets 
of  tarred  canvas.  It  is  a  very  primitive  little  affair,  only  one  story  high,  and 
not  more  than  fifteen  by  twenty  feet  in  dimensions.  From  the  date  on  the 
weather-cock  it  appears  to  have  been  built  in  1858.  The  congregation  is  sup- 
plied by  the  few  sheep-ranches  in  the  neighborhood,  consisting  at  most  of  half 
a  dozen  families.  These  unpretending  little  churches  are  to  be  seen  in  the 
vicinity  of  every  settlement  throughout  the  whole  island.  Simple  and  homely 
as  they  are,  they  «peak  well,  for  the  pious  character  of  the  people. 

"  The  pastor  of  Thingvalla  and  his  family  reside  in  a  group  of  sod-covered 
huts  close  by  the  church.  These  cheerless  little  hovels  are  really  a  curiosity, 
none  of  them  being  over  ten  or  fifteen  feet  high,  and  all  huddled  together  with- 
out the  slightest  regard  to  latitude  or  longitude,  like  a  parcel  of  sheep  in- a 
storm.  Some  have  Avindows  in  the  roof,  and  some  have  chimneys ;  grass  and 
Aveeds  groAV  all  OA-er  them,  and  crooked  by-Avays  and  dark  alleys  run  among 
them  and  through  them.  At  the  base  they  are  Availed  up  Avith  big  lumps  of 
b,va,  and  two  of  them  have  board  fronts,  painted  black,  Avhile  the  remainder  are 


THE  ICELANDERS. 


105 


CULRCU  AT  TUINGVALLV 


patched  up  with  turf  and  rubbish  of  all  sorts,  very  much  in  the  style  of  a  stork's 
nest.  A  low  stone  wall  encircles  the  premises,  but  seems  to  be  of  little  use  as  a 
barrier  against  the  encroachments  of  live-stock,  being  broken  up  in  gaps  every 
few  yards.  In  front  of  the  group  some  attempt  has  been  made  at  a  pavement, 
w^hich,  however,  must  have  been  abandoned  soon  after  the  work  was  com- 
menced. It  is  now  .littered  all  over  with  old  tubs,  pots,  dish-cloths,  and  other 
articles  of  domestic  use. 

"The  interior  of  this  strange  abode  is  even  more  complicated  than  one 
would  be  led  to  expect  from  the  exterior.  Passing  through  a  dilapidated  door- 
Avay  in  one  of  the  smaller  cabins,  which  you  would  hardly  suppose  to  be  the 
main  entrance,  you  find,  yourself  in  a  long  dark  passage-way,  built  of  rough 
stone,  and  roofed  with  Avooden  rafters  and  brushwood  covered  with  sod.  The 
sides  are  ornamented  with  pegs  stuck  in  the  crevices  between  the  stones,  upon 
which  hang  saddles,  bridles,  horse-shoes,  bunches  of  herbs,  dried  fish,  and  various 
articles  of  cast-off  clothing,  including  old  shoes  and  sheepskins.  Wide  or  nar- 
row, straight  or  crooked,  to  suit  the  sinuosities  of  the  different  cabins  into 
which  it  forms  the  entrance,  it  seems  to  have  been  originally  located  upon  the 
track  of  a  bUnd  boa-constrictor.  The  best  room,  or  rather  house— for  every 
room  is  a  house — is  set  apart  for  the  accommodation  of  travellers.  Another 
cabin  is  occupied  by  some  members  of  the  pastor's  family,  who  bundle  about 
like  a  lot  of  rabbits.  The  kitchen  is  also  the  dog-kennel,  and  occasionally  the 
sheep-house.  A  pile  of  stones  in  one  corner  of  it,  upon  which  a  few  twigs  or 
scraps  of  sheep-manure  serve  to  make  the  fire,  constitute  the  cooking  apartment. 
The  floor  consists  of  the  original  lava-bed,  and  artificial  puddles  composed  of 


106 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


slops  and  offal  of  diverse  unctuous  kinds.  Smoke  fills  all  the  cavities  in  the  air 
not  already  occupied  by  foul  odors,  and  the  beams,  and  post's,  and  rickety  old 
bits  of  furniture  are  dyed  to  the  core  with  the  dense  and  variegated  atmosphere 
around  them.  This  is  a  fair  .specimen  of  the  whole  estabhshment,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  tthe  travellers'  room.  The  beds  in  these  cabins  am  the  chief  arti- 
cles of  luxury." 

The  poverty  of  the  clergy  corresponds  with  the  meanness  of  their  churches. 
The  best  living  in  the  island  is  that  of  Breide'-Bolstadr,  where  the  nominal 
stipend  amounts  to  180  specie  dollars,  or  about  £40  a  year;  and  Mr.  Hol- 
land states  that  the  average  livings  do  not  amount  to  more  than  £10  for  each 
parish  in  the  island.  The  clergymen  must  therefore  depend  almost  entirely 
for  subsistence  on  their  glebe  land,  and  a  small  pittance  to  which  they  are 
entitled  for  the  few  baptisms,  marriages,  and  funerals  that  occur  among  their 
parishioners.  The  bishop  himself  has  only  2000  rix-doUars,  or  £200,  a  year, 
a  miserable  pittance  to  make  a  decent  appearance,  and  to  exercise  hospitality 
to  the  clergy  who  visit  Reykjavik  from  distant  parts. 

It  can  not  be  wondered  at  that  pastors  thus  miserably  paid  are  generally 
oMiged  to  perform  the  hardest  work  of  day  laborers  to  preserve  their  families 
from  starving,  and  that  their  external  appearance  corresponds  less  with  the  dig- 
nity of  their  office  than  with  their  penury.  Besides  hay-making  and  tending  the 
cattle,  they  may  be  frequently  seen  leading  a  train  of  pack-horses  from  a  fishing- 
station  to  their  distant  hut.  They  are  all  blacksmiths  also  from  necessity,  and 
the  best  shoers  of  horses  on  the  island.  The  feet  of  an  Iceland  horse  would  be 
cut  to  pieces  over  the  sharp  rock  and  lava,  if  not  well  shod.  The  great  resort 
of  the  peasantry  is  the  church  ;  and  should  any  of  the  numerous  horses  have  lost 
a  shoe,  or  be  likely  to  do  so,  the  priest  puts  on  his  apron,  lights  his  Httle  char- 
coal fire  in  his  smithy  (one  of  which  is  always  attached  to  every  parsonage), 
and  sets  the  animal  on  his  legs  again.     The  task  of  getting  the  necessary  char- 


TOE    msTOU'^    IlOl  sL,  'I1I1N0\  ALL  \ 


THE  ICELANDERS. 


107 


coal  is  not  the  least  of  his  labors,  for 
whatever  the  distance  may  be  to  the 
nearest  thicket  of  dwarf -birch,  he  must 
go  thither  to  burn  tlie  wood,  and  to 
bring  it  home  when  charred  across  his 
horse's  back.  His  hut  is  scarcely  bet- 
ter than  that  of  the  meanest  fisherman ; 
a  bed,  a  rickety  table,  a  few  chairs,  and 
a  chest  or  two,  are  aU  his  furniture. 
This  is,  as  long  as  h&  lives,  the  condi- 
tion of  the  Icelandic  clergyman,  and 
learning,  virtue,  and  even  genius  are 
but  too  frequently  buried  under  this 
squalid  poverty. 

But  few  of  my  readers  have  proba- 
bly ever  heard  of  the  poet  Jon  Thor- 
lakson,  but  who  can  withhold  the  trib- 
ute of  his  admiration  from  the  poor 
priest  of  Backa,  who  with  a  fixed  in- 
come of  less  than  £6  a  year,  and  con- 
demned to  all  the  drudgery  which  I 
have  described,  finished  at  seventy 
years  of  age  a  translation  of  Milton's 
"Paradise  Lost,"  having  previously 
translated  Pope's  "  Essay  on  Man." 

Three  of  the  first  books  only  of  the  "  Paradise  Lost "  were  printed  by  the 
Icelandic  Literary  Society,  when  it  was  dissolved  in  1796,  and  to  print  the  rest 
at  his  own  expense  was  of  course  impossible.  In  a  few  Icelandic  verses,  Thor- 
lakson  touchingly  alludes  to  his  penury : — "  Ever  since  I  came  into  this  world 
I  have  been  wedded  to  Poverty,  who  has  now  hugged  me  to  her  bosom  these 
seventy  winters,  all  but  two  ;  and  whelher  we  shall  ever  be  separated  here  below 
is  only  known  to  Him  who  joined  us  together." 

As  if  Providence  had  intended  to  teach  the  old  man  that  we  must  hop,e  to 
the  last,  he  soon  after  received  the  unexpected  visit  of  Mr.  Henderson,  an  agent 
of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  Avho  thus  relates  his  interview : 

"  Like  most  of  his  brethren  at  this  season  of  the  year,  we  found  him  in  the 
meadow  assisting  his  people  in  hay-making.  On  hearing  of  our  arrival,  he 
made  all  the  haste  home  which  his  age  and  infirmity  would  allow,  and  bidding 
us  Avelcome  to  his  lowly  abode,  ushered  us  into  the  humble  apartment  where  he 
translated  my  countrymen  into  Icelandic.  The  door  is  not  quite  four  feet  in 
height,  and  the  room  may  be  about  eight  feet  in  length  by  six  in  breadth.  At 
the  inner  end  is  the  poet's  bed,  and  close  to  the  door,  over  against  a  small  win- 
dow, not  exceeding  two  feet  square,  is  a  table  where  he  commits  to  paper  the 
efEusions  of  his  Muse.  On  my  telling  him  that  my  countrymen  would  not  have 
forgiven  me,  nor  could  I  have  forgiven  myself,  had  I  passed  through  this  part 
of  the  island  without  paying  him  a  visit,  he  replied  that  the  translation  of  Mil- 


THE   PASTOR  OF  THINGVALLA. 


108  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

ton  had  yielded  him  many  a  pleasant  hour,  and  often  given  him  occasion  to 
think  of  England." 

This  f isit  was  followed  by  agreeable  consequences  for  the  venerable  bard. 
The  Literary  Fund  soon  afterwards  sent  him  a  present  of  £30,  a  modest  sum 
according  to  our  ideas,  but  a  mine  of  wealth  in  the  eyes  of  the  poor  Icelandic 
priest.  His  life,  however,  was  now  near  its  close,  as  it  is  stated  in  a  short 
view  "  Of  the  Origin,  Progress,  and  Operations  of  the  Society,"  dated  March 
3d,  1821,  that  "the  poet  of  Iceland  is  now  in  his  grave;  but  it  is  satisfactory 
to  know  that  the  attention,  in  this  instance,  of  a  foreign  and  remote  society  to 
his  gains  and  his  fortunes  was  highly  gratifying  to  liis  feelings,  and  contrib- 
uted not  immaterially  to  the  comfort  of  his  concluding  days." 

He  wrote  a  letter  in  very  elegant  Latin,  expressing  his  heartfelt  gratitude 
for  the  kindness  and  generosity  of  the  Society,  so  accordant  with  the  character 
of  the  British  nation,  and  accompanied  it  with  a  MS.  copy  of  his  translation. 
The  latter  was  first  printed  in  Iceland  in  1828,  but  his  own  original  poems  did 
not  appear  before  1842, 

The  school  Avhere  most  of  the  Icelandic  clergymen,  so  poor  and  yet  gener- 
ally so  respectable  in  their  poverty,  are  educated,  is  that  of  Reykjavik,  as  few 
only  enjoy  stipends  which  enable  them  to  study  at  Copenhagen.  There  they" 
live  several  years  under  a  milder  sky,  they  become  acquainted  with  the  splen- 
dor of  a  large  capital,  and  thus  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  idea  of  returning 
to  the  dreary  wastes  of  their  own  land  must  be  intolerable.  Yet  this  is  their 
ardent  desire,  and,  like  banished  exiles,  they  long  for  their  beloved  Iceland, 
where  privation  and  penury  await  them. 

In  no  Christian  country,  perhaps  with  the  sole  exception  of  Lapland,  are  the 
clergy  so  poor  as  in  Iceland,  but  in  none  do  they  exert  a  more  beneficial  in- 
fluence. 

Though  the  island  has  but  the  one  public  school  at  Reykjavik,  yet  perhaps 
in  no  country  is  elementary  education  more  generally  diffused.  Every  mother 
teaches  her  children  to  read  and  write,  and  a  peasant,  after  providing  for  the 
wants  of  his  family  by  the  labor  of  his  hands,  loses  no  opportunity,  in  his  lei- 
sure hours,  of  inculcating  a  sound  morahty.  In  these  praiseworthy  efforts  the 
par^ts  are  supported  by  the  pastor. 

He  who,  judging  from  the  sordid  condition  of  an  Icelandic  hut,  might  imag- 
ine its  inhabitants  to  be  no  better  than  savages,  would  soon  cliange  his  opin- 
ion were  he  introduced  on  a  winter  evening  into  the  low,  ill-ventilated  room 
where  the  family  of  a  peasant  or  a  small  landholder  is  assembled.  Vainly 
would  he  seek  a  single  idler  in  the  whole  company.  The  women  and  girls 
spin  or  knit ;  the  men  and  boys  are  all  busy  mending  their  agricultural  imple- 
ments and  household  utensils,  or  else  chiselling  or  cutting  with  admirable  skill 
ornaments  or  snuff-boxes  in  silver,  ivory,  or  wood.  By  the  dubious  light  of  a 
tallow  lamp,  just  making  obscurity  visible,  sits  one  of  the  family,  who  reads 
with  a  loud  voice  an  old  "  saga"  or  chronicle,  or  maybe  the  newest  number  of 
the  "  Northurfari,"  an  Iceland  literary  almanac,  published  during  the  last  few 
years  by  Mr.  Gisle  Brinjulfsson.  Sometimes  poems  or  whole  sagas  are  repeat- 
ed from  memory,  and  there  are  even  itincM-ant  story-tellers,  who,  like  the  trouba- 


THE  ICELANDERS.  109 

doui's  and  trouveres  of  the  Middle  Ages,  wander  from  one  farm  to  another„and 
thus  gain  a  scanty  livelihood.  In  this  manner  the  deeds  of  the  ancient  Ice- 
landers remain  fixed  in  the  memory  of  their  descendants,  and  Snorre  Sturleson, 
Siimnnd,  Frodi,  and  Eric  Rauda  are  unforgotten.  Nine  centuries  have  elapsed ; 
but  every  Icelander  still  knows  the  names  of  the  proud  yarls  who  first  peopled 
the  fiords  of  the  island ;  and  the  exploits  of  the  brave  vikings  who  spread  ter- 
ror and  desolation  along  all  the  coasts  of  Europe  still  fill  the  liearts  of  the 
peaceful  islanders  of  our  days  with  a  glow  of  patriotic  pride. 

Where  education  is  so  general,  one  may  naturally  expect  to  find  a  high  de- 
gree of  intellectual  cultivation  among  the  clergy,  the  public  functionaries,  and 
the  wealthier  part  of  the  population.  Their  classical  knowledge  is  one  of  the 
first  things  that  Strike  the  stranger  with  astonishment.  He  sees  men  whose 
appearance  too  frequently  denotes  an  abject  po-verty  conversant  with  the  great 
authors  of  antiquity,  and  keenly  alive  to  their  beauties.  Travelling  to  the  Gey- 
sirs,  he  is  not  seldom  accosted  in  Latin  by  his  guide,  and  stopping  at  a  farm, 
his  host  greets  him  in  the  same  language. 

I  have  specially  named  Jon  Thorlakson,  but  Iceland  has  produced  and  still 
produces  many  other  men  who,  Avithout  the  hope  of  any  other  reward  but  that 
which  proceeds  from  the  pure  love  of  literature,  devote  their  days  and  nights 
to  laborious  studies,  and  live  with  Virgil  and  Homer  under  the  sunny  skies  of 
Italy  and  Greece.  In  the  study  of  the  modern  languages,  the  Icelanders  are 
as  far  advanced  as  can  be  expected  from  their  limited  intercourse  with  the  rest 
of  the  world. 

The  English  language,  in  which  they  find  so  many  words  of  their  own  and 
so  many  borrowed  from  the  Latin,  is  cultivated  by  many  of  the  clergy.  The 
German  they  find  still  more  easy ;  and  as  all  the  Scandinavian  languages  pro- 
ceed from  the  same  root,  they  have  no  diflficulty  in  understanding  the  Danish 
and  the  Norwegian  tongues.  Of  all  the  modern  languages  or  dialects  which 
have  sprung  from  the  ancient  Norse,  spoken  a  thousand  years  ago  all  over 
Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Norway,  none  has  undergone  fewer  changes  than  the  Ice- 
landic. In  the  sea-ports  it  is  mixed  up  with  many  Danish  words  and  phrases, 
but  in  the  interior  of  the  island  it  is  still  spoken  as  it  was  in  the  times  of  In- 
golfr  and  Eric  the  Red,  and  in  the  whole  island  there  is  no  fisherman  or  day 
laborer  who  does  not  perfectly  understand  the  oldest  writings. 

It  may  easily  be  imagined  that  among  a  people  so  fond  of  literature,  books 
must  be  in  great  request.  Too  poor  to  be  constantly  increasing  their  small  col- 
lections of  modern  publications,  or  of  old  "  sagas  "  or  chronicles,  by  new  acqui- 
sitions, one  assists  the  other.  When  the  peasant  goes  on  Sundays  to  church, 
he  takes  a  few  volumes  with  him,  ready  to  lend  his  treasures  to  his  neighbors, 
and,  on  his  part,  selects  from  among  those  which  they  have  brought  for  the 
same  purpose.  When  he  is  particularly  pleased  with  a  work,  he  has  it  copied 
at  home,  and  it  may  be  here  remarked  that  the  Icelanders  are  frequently  most 
excellent  calligraphists. 

The  foundation  of  a  public  library  at  Reykjavik  in  1821,  at  the  instigation 
of  the  learned  Professor  Rafn  of  Copenhagen,  was  a  great  boon  to  the  people, 
n  is  said  to  contain  about  12,000  volumes,  which  are  kept  under  the  roof  of  the 


110  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

cathedral.  Books  are  freely  lent  for  months,  or  even  for  a  whole  year,  to  the 
inhabitants  of  remote  districts.  This  liberality  is,  of  course,  attended  with 
some  inconvenience,  but  it  has  the  inestimable  advantage  of  rendering  a  num- 
ber of  good  works  accessible  to  numerous  families  too  poor  to  pixrchase  them. 

Another  excellent  institution  is  the  New  Icelandic  Literary  Society,  founded 
in  1816.  It  has  two  seats,  one  in  Copenhagen,  the  other  in  Reykjavik,  and  its 
chief  object  is  the  publication  of  useful  works  in  the  language  of  the  country. 
Besides  an  annual  grant  of  100  specie  dollars  (£24)  awarded  to  it  by  the 
Danish  Government,  its  income  is  confined  to  the  yearly  contributions  of  its 
members,*  and  with  this  scanty  means  it  has  already  published  many  excellent 
works. 

Though  remote  from  the  busy  scenes  of  the  world,  Iceland"  has  three  news- 
papers, the  Thyodtholfr  and  the  Islendingur,  which  appear  at  Reykjavik,  and 
the  Northri,  which  is  pubUshed  at  Akreyri,  on  the  borders  of  the  Polar  Ocean. 
The  Islendingur  is  said  to  contain  many  excellent  articles,  but  it  would  sorely 
task  the  patience  of  those  who  are  accustomed  to  the  regular  enjoyment  of  the 
"  Times  "  at  breakfast ;  as  it  sometimes  appears  but  once  in  three  weeks,  and  then 
again,  as  if  to  make  up  for  lost  time,  twice  in  eight  days. 

In  spite  of  their  ill-ventilated  dwellings  and  the  hardships  entailed  upon 
them  by  the  severity  of  the  climate,  the  Icelanders  frequently  attain  a  good  old 
age.  Of  the  2019  persons  who  died  in  1858,  25  had  passed  the  age  of  ninety, 
and  of  these  20  belonged  to  the  fair  sex.  The  mortality  among  the  children  is, 
however,  very  considerable  ;  993,  or  nearly  one-half  of  the  entire  number  hav- 
ing died  before  the  age  of  five  in  the  year  above-mentioned.  Cutaneous  affec- 
tions are  verj"^  common  among  Icelanders,  as  may  easily  be  supposed  from  their 
sordid  woollen  apparel  and  the  uncleanliness  of  their  huts ;  and  the  northern 
leprosy,  or  "  liktlira,"  is  constantly  seeking  out  its  victims  among  them.  This 
dreadful  disease,  which  is  also  found  among  the  fishermen  in  Norway,  in  Green- 
land, in  the  Faeroes,  in  Lapland,  and,  in  short,  wherever  the  same  mode  of  life 
exists,  begins  with  a  swelling  of  the  hands  and  feet.  The  hair  falls  off ;  the 
senses  become  obtuse.  Tumors  appear  on  the  arms  and  legs,  and  on  the  face, 
which  soon  loses  the  semblance  of  humanity.  Severe  pains  shoot  through  the 
joints,  an  eruption  covers  the  whole  body,  and  finally  changes  into  open  sores, 
ending  Avith  death.  He  whom  the  leprosy  has  once  attacked  is  doomed,  for  it 
mocks  all  the  efforts  of  medical  art.  Fortunately  the  victims  of  this  shocking 
complaint  are  rather  objects  of  pity  than  of  disgust,  and  as  it  is  not  supposed 
to  be  contagious,  they  are  not  so  cruelly  forsaken  by  their  relations  as  their  fel- 
low-sufferers in  the  East.  In  the  hut  of  the  priest  of  Thingvalla,  Marmier  saw 
a  leper  busy  grinding  corn.  Some  of  the  poorest  and  most  helpless  of  these 
unfortunate  creatures  find  a  refuge  in  four  small  hospitals,  where  they  are  pro- 
vided for  at  the  public  expense. 

Since  a  regular  steam-boat  communication  has  been  opened  between  Ice- 
land, Denmark,  and  Scotland,  the  number  of  tourists  desirous  of  viewing  the 

*  Their  number  in  1860  was  991.  During  his  voyage  to  Iceland  in  1850  Prince  Napoleon  was  named 
honorary  president,  a  distinction  he  shares  with  the  Bishop  of  Eej'kjavik.  Among  the  46  honorary 
members  I  lind  the  name  of  Lord  Dufferin. 


THE  ICELANDERS. 


Ill 


matchless  natural  wonders  of  the  island  has  considerably  increased.  But  trav- 
elling in  the  island  itself  is  still  attended  with  considerable  difficulties  and  no 
trifling  expense,  to  say  nothing  of  the  want  of  all  comforts ;  so  that  most  of  its 
visitors  are  content  with  a  trip  to  Thingvalla  and  the  Geysir,  which  are  but  a 
couple  of  days'  journey  from  Reykjavik,  and  very  few,  like  Mr.  Holland,  make 
the  entire  circuit  of  the  island,  or,  like  Mr.  Shepherd,  plunge  into  the  terra  in- 
cognita of  its  north-western  peninsula.  The  only  mode  of  travelling  is  on 
horseback,  as  there  are  no  roads,  and  therefore  no  carriages  in  Iceland.  The 
distances  between  the  places  are  too  great,  the  rivers  are  too  furious,  and  the 
bogs  too  extensive  to  allow  of  a  walking  tour  being  made.  Even  the  tourist 
with  the  most  modest  pretensions  requires  at  least  two  riding  horses  for  him- 
self, two  for  his  guide,  and  two  packhorses  ;  and  when  a  larger  company  travels, 
it  always  forms  a  cavalcade  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  horses,  tied  head  to  tail, 
the  chief  guide  mounted  on  the  first  and  leading  the  string,  the  other  accelerat- 
ing its  motions  by  gesticulation,  sundry  oaths,  and  the  timely  application  of 
the  whip.  The  way,  or  the  path,  lies  either  over  beds  of  lava,  so  rugged  that 
the  horses  are  allowed  to  pick  their  way,  or  over  boggy  ground,  where  it  is 
equally  necessary  to  avoid  those  places  into  which  the  animals  might  sink  up 
to  their  belly,  but  which,  when  left  to  themselves,  they  ai-e  remai'kably  skillful 
in  detecting.  With  the  solitary  exception  of  a  few  planks  thrown  across  the 
Bruera,  and  a  kind  of  swing  bridge,  or  kldfr,  contrived  for  passing  the  rapid 
Jokulsa,  there  are  no  bridges  over  the  rivers,  so  that  the  only  way  to  get  aci'oss 
is  to  ride  through  them — a  feat  which,  considering  the  usual  velocity  of  their 
current,  is  not  seldom  attended  with  considerable  dangei*,  as  will  be  seen  by  the 
following  account  of  the  crossing  of  the  Skeidara  by  Mr.  Holland. 


BKIDGE   RIVEK,  ICELAND. 


113  THE  ;pOLAlt  WORLD. 

"  Our  guide,"  says  this  intrepid  traveller,  "  urged  on  his  horse  through  the 
stream,  and  led  the  way  towards  the  mid-channel.  We  followed  in  his  wake, 
and  soon  were  all  stemming  the  impetuous  and  swollen  torrent.  In  the  course 
of  our  journey  we  had  before  this  crossed  a  good  many  rivers  more  or  less 
deep,  but  all  of  them  had  been  mere  child's  play  compared  to  that  which  we 
Avere  now  fording.  The  angry  water  rose  high  against  our  horses'  sides,  at 
times  almost  coming  over  the  tops  of  their  shoulders.  The  spray  from  their 
broken  crests  was  dashed  up  into  our  faces.  The  stream  was  so  swift  that  it 
was  impossible  to  follow  the  individual  waves  as  they  rushed  past  us,  and  it 
almost  made  us  dizzy  to  look  down  at  it.  Now,  if  ever,  is  the  time  for  firm 
hand  or  rein,  sure  seat,  and  steady  eye  ;  not  only  is  the  stream  so  strong,  but 
the  bottom  is  full  of  large  stones,  that  the  horse  can  not  see  through  the  murky 
Avaters  ;  if  he  should  fall,  the  torrent  will  sweep  you  down  to  the  sea — its  white 
breakers  are  plainly  visible  as  they  run  along  the  shore  at  scarcely  a  mile's  dis- 
tance, and  they  lap-  the  beach  as  if  they  waited  for  their  prey.  Happily,  they 
will  be  disappointed.  Swimming  would  be  of  no  use,  but  an  Icelandic  water- 
horse  seldom  makes  a  blunder  or  a  false"  step.  Not  the  least  of  the  risks  Ave 
ran  in  crossing  the  Skeidara  Avas  from  the  masses  of  ice  carried  down  by  the 
stream  from  the  Jokul,  many  of  them  being  large  enough  to  knock  a  horse 
over. 

"  Fortunately  Ave  found  much  less  ice  in  the  centre  and  SAviftcst  part  of  the 
river,  Avhere  we  Avere  able  to  see  and  avoid  it,  than  in  the  side  channels.  How 
the  horses  were  able  to  stand  against  such  a  stream  was  marvellous ;  they 
could  not  do  so  unless  they  were  constantly  in  the  habit  of  crossing  swift 
rivers.  The  Icelanders  Avho  live  in  this  part  of  the  island  keep  horses  known 
for  their  qualities  in  fording  difficult  rivers,  and  they  never  venture  to  cross  a 
dangerous  stream  unless  mounted  on  a  tried  Avater-horse.  The  action  of  the 
Icelandic  horses  Avhen  crossing  a  SAvift  river  is  very  peculiar.  They  lean  all 
their  weight  against  the  stream,  so  as  to  resist  it  as  much  as  possible,  and 
move  onward  Avith  a  peculiar  side-step.  This  motion  is  not  agreeable.  It 
feels  as  if  your  horse  Avere  marking  time  Avithout  gaining  ground,  and  the  prog- 
ress made  being  really  very  sloAV,  the  shore  from  Avhich  you  started  seems  to 
recede  from  you,  AA^hilst  that  for  Avhich  you  are  making  appears  as  far  as  ever. 

"  When  we  reached  the  middle  of  the  stream,  the  roar  of  the  Avaters  Avas  so 
great  that  we  could- scarcely  make  our  voices  audible  to  one  another;  they 
Avere  overpoAvered  by  the  crunching  sound  of  the  ice,  and  the  bumping  of  large 
stones  against  the  bottom.  Up  to  this  point  a  diagonal  line,  rather  doAvn 
stream,  had  been  cautiously  foUoAved ;  but  Avhen  Ave  came  to  the  middle,  we 
turned  our  horses'  heads  a  httle  against  the  stream.  As  we  thus  altered  our 
course,  the  l^ng  fine  of  baggage-horses  appeared  to  be  SAVung  round  altogether, 
as  if  SAvept  off  their  legs.  None  of  them,  howeA-er,  broke  away,  and  they  con- 
tinued their  advance  Avithout  accident,  and  at  length  Ave  all  reached  the  shore 
in  safety." 

After  a  day's  journey  in  Iceland,  rest,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  is  highly 
Acceptable.  Instead  of  passing  the  night  in  the  peasant's  hut,  the  traveller, 
Avhen  no  church  is  at  hand,  generally  prefers  pitching  his  tent  near  a  running 


THE   ICELANDERS.  II3 

stream  on  a  grassy  plain  ;  but  sometimes,  in  consequence  of  the  great  distance 
from  one  habitable  place  to  another,  he  is  obliged  to  encamp  in  the  midst  of  a 
bog  where  the  poor  horses  find  either  bad  herbs,  scarcely  fit  to  satisfy  their 
hunger,  or  no  food  at  all.^  After  they  have  been  unloaded,  their  fore  legs  are 
bound  together  above  th'eir  hoofs,  so  as  to  prevent  them  straying  too  far, 
while  their  masters  arrange  themselves  in  the  tent  as  comfortably  as  they  can.' 


ICELANDIC  BOG. 


114  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 


COAST   OF    ICELAND. 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

THE  WESTMAN  ISLANDS. 


The  Westmans.— Their  extreme  Difficulty  of  Access. — How  they  became  peopled. — HeimaeJ^  — 
Kaufstathir  and  Ofanleyte. —  Sheep-hoisting.  — Egg-gathering. —  Dreadful  Mortality  among  tlie 
Children.— The  Ginklofi.— Gentleman  John.— The  Algerine  Pirates.— Dreadful  Sufferings  of  tlie 
Islanders. 

"DISIXG  abruptly  from  the  sea  to  a  height  of  916  feet,  the  small  Westraan 
-■-*'  Islands  are  no  less  picturesqxte  than  difficult  of  access.  Many  a  traveller 
while  sailing  along  the  south  coast  of  Iceland  has  admired  their  towering  rock- 
walls,  but  no  modern  tourist  has  ever  landed  there.  For  so  stormy  a  sea  rolls 
between  them  and  the  mainland,  and  so  violent  are  the  currents,  which  the 
slightest  wind  brings  forth  in  the  narrow  channels  of  the  archipelago,  that  a 
landing  can  be  effected  only  when  the  weather  is  perfectly  calm.  The  Dri- 
fanda  foss,  a  cascade  on  the  opposite  mainland,  rushing  from  the  brow  of  the  Eya- 
fyalla  range  in  a  column  of  some  800  or  900  feet  in  height,  is  a  sort  of  barometer, 
which  decides  whether  a  boat  can  put  off  with  a  prospect  of  gaining  the  West- 
mans.  In  stormy  weather  the  wind  eddying  among  the  cliffs  converts  the  fall, 
though  considerable,  into  a  cloud  of  spray,  which  is  dissipated  in  the  atmos- 
phere, so  that  no  cascade  is  visible  from  the  beach.  In  calm  Aveather  the 
column  is  intact,  and  if  it  remains  so  two  days  in  succession,  then  the  sea  is 
usually  calm  enough  to  allow  boats  to  land,  and  they  venture  out.  As  thelce- 
landers,  through  stormy  weather,  are  frequently  cut  off  from  Europe,  so  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Westmans  are  still  more  frequently  cut  off  from  Iceland,  and 
it  is  seldom  more  than  once  a  year  that  the  mails  are  landed  direct.  The  few 
letters  from  Denmark  (for  the  correspondence  is  in  all  probability  not  very 
active)  are  landed  in  Iceland  at  Reykjavik,  and  thence  forwarded  to  the  islands 
by  boat,  as  chance  may  offer,  for,  during  the  whole  winter  and  the  greater  part 


THE   WESTMAN  ISLANDS. 


115 


of  tTie  summer,  communication  is  impossible.  It  will  now  be  understood  why 
tourists  are  so  little  inclined  to  visit  the  Westmans,  despite  the  magnificence 
of  their  coast  scenery,  for  who  has  the  patience  to  tarry  in  a  miserable  hut  on 
the  opposite  mainland  till  the  cascade  informs  him  that  they  are  accessible,  or 
is  inclined  to  run  the  risk  of  being  detained  by  a  sudden  change  of  the  weather 
for  weeks  or  even  months  on  these  solitary  rocks  ? 

Mr.  Ross  Browne  thus  describes  the  general  aspect  of  the  coast  of  Iceland  : 
"Nothing  could  surpass  the  desolate  grandeur  of  the  coast  as  we  approached 
the  point  of  Reykjaness.  It  was  of  an  almost  infernal  blackness.  The  Avhole 
country  seemed  uptorn,  rifted,  shattered,  and  scattered  about  in  a  vast  chaos 
of  ruin.  Huge  cliffs  of  lava  split  down  to  their  bases  toppled  over  the  surf. 
Rocks  of  every  conceivable  shape,  scorched  and  blasted  with  fire,  wrested 
from  the  main  and  hurled  into  the  sea,  battled  with  the  waves,  their  black 
scraggy  j^oints  piercing  the  mist  like  giant  hands  upthrown  to  smite  or  sink  in 
a  fierce  death-struggle.  T.he  wild  havoc  wrought  in  the  conflict  of  elements 
Avas  appalling.  Birds  screamed  over  the  fearful  wreck  of  matter.  The  surf 
from  the  inroUing  waves  broke  against  the  charred  and  shattered  desert  of  ruin 
with  a  terrific  roar.  Columns  of  spray  shot  up  over  the  blackened  fragments 
of  lava,  while  in  every  opening  the  lashed  waters,  discolored  by  the  collision, 
seethed  and  surged  as  in  a  huge  caldron." 


WESTMAN   ISLES. 


Of  the  Westman  Islands,  he  says :  "  Towards  noon  we  made  the  West- 
man  Isles,  a  small  rocky  group  some  ten  miles  distant  from  the  main  island. 
A  fishing  and  trading  estabUshment,  owned  by  a  company  of  Danes,  is  locatetl 


116  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

on  one  of  these  islands.  The  Arcturus  touches  twice  a  year  to  deliver  and  re- 
ceive a  mail.  On  the  occasion  of  our  visit,  a  boat  came  out  with  a  hardy-look- 
ing crew  of  Danes  to  receive  the  mail-bag.  It  was  doubtless  a  matter  of  great 
rejoicing  to  them  to  obtain  news  from  home.  I  had  barely  time  to  make  a 
rough  outline  of  the  islands  as  we  lay  off  the  settlement.  The  chief  interest  at- 
tached to  the  Westman  group  is,  that  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  visited  by 
Columbus  in  1477,  fifteen  years  prior  to  his  voyage  of  discovery  to  the  shores 
of  America." 

The  puffin,  or  the  screeching  sea-mew,  seem  the  only  inhabitants  for  wliich 
nature  has  fitted  the  Westmans,  and  yet  they  have  a  history  which  leads  us 
back  to  the  times  when  Iceland  itself  first  became  known  to  man. 

About  875,  a  few  years  after  Ingolfr  followed  his  household  gods  to  Reyk- 
javik, a  Norwegian  pirate,  perchance  one  of  the  associates  of  that  historical 
personage,  landed  on  the  coast  of  Ireland,  attacked  with  fire  and  sword  the  de- 
fenseless population,  captured  forty  or  fifty  persons,  men,  women,  and  children, 
and  carried  them  off  as  slaves.  The  passage  must  have  been  any  thing  but 
pleasant,  for  it  gave  the  Hibernians  such  a  foretaste  of  the  wretchedness  that 
awaited  them  in  Iceland,  their  future  abode,  that,  taking  courage  from  despair, 
they  rose  on  their  captors,  threw  them  overboard,  and  went  ashore  on  the  first 
land  they  met  with. 

A  day  of  rare  serenity  must  have  witnessed  their  arrival  on  the  Westmans, 
a  spot  which  of  all  others  seemed  most  unlikely  to  become  their  home.  Why 
they  remained  there,  is  a  secret  of  the  past ;  most  likely  they  had  no  other  al- 
ternative, and  freedom  on  a  rock  was,  at  all  events,  better  than  slavery  under  a 
cruel  viking. 

Thus  these  weather-beaten  islets  were  first  peopled  by  men  from  the  west, 
whence  they  derive  their  name,  and  it  is  supposed  that  the  present  inhabitants 
are  the  descendants  of  those  children  of  Erin.  No  one  will  be  inclined  to  envy 
them  the  heritage  bequeathed  to  them  by  their  fathers. 

The  Westmans  are  fourteen  in  number ;  but  of  these  only  one,  called  Hei- 
maey,  or  Home  Island,  is  inhabited.  ^  It  is  fifteen  miles  from  the  coast  of  Iceland, 
and  forty-five  from  Hecla.  Though  larger  than  all  the  others  put  together,  its 
entire  surface  is  not  more  than  ten  square  miles.  It  is  almost  surrounded  with 
high  basaltic  cliffs,  and  an  otherwise  iron-bound  shore;  its  interior  is  covered 
with  black  ashy-looking  cones,  bearing  undoubted  evidence  of  volcanic  action ; 
in  fact,  the  harbor,  which  lies  on  its  north-east  side,  and  is  only  accessible  to 
small  craft,  is  formed  out  of  an  old  crater,  into  which  the  sea  has  worn  an  en- 
trance. The  inhabitants  are  located  in  two  villages ;  Kaufstathir,  on  a  little 
grassy  knoll  near  the  landing-place,  and  Ofanleyte,  on  the  grassy  platform  of  the 
island.  Only  three  of  the  other  islets  produce  any  vegetation  or  pasturage,  and 
it  is  said  that  on  one  of  these  the  sheep  are  hoisted  with  a  rope  out  of  the 
boats  by  an  islander,  who,  at  the  risk  of  his  neck,  has  climbed  to  the  top  of  the 
precipitous  rock.  The  others  are  mere  naked  cliffs  or  basaltic  pillars,  the  abode 
of  innumerable  sea-birds,  which,  when  accessible,  are  a  precious  resource  to  the 
islanders.  For,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  the  scanty  grass  lands  afford  nourish- 
ment but  to  a  few  cows  and  sheep ;  and  as  the  unruly  waters  too  often  prevent 


THE   WESTMAN  ISLANDS.  117 

their  fishing-boats  from  putting  to  sea,  they  depend  in  a  great  measure  for 
their  subsistence  upon  the  sea-birds,  in  whose  capture  they  exhibit  wonderful 
courage  and  skill.  In  the  egg-season  they  go  to  the  top  of  the  cliff,  and,  put- 
ting a  rope  round  a  man's  waist,  let  him  down^  the  side  of  tlie  perpendicular 
rock,  one,  two,  or  three  hundred  feet ;  on  arriving  at  the  long,  narrow,  hori- 
zontal shelves,  he  proceeds  to  fill  a  large  bag  with  the  brittle  treasures  depos- 
ited by  the  birds.  When  his  bag  is  full,  he  and  his  eggs  are  drawn  to  the  to]) 
by  his  companions.  If  the  rope  breaks,  or  is  cut  off  by  the  sharp  corners  of 
the  rock,  which,  however,  happens  but  seldom,  nothing  can  save  the  luckless 
fowler,  who  is  either  precipitated  into  the  sea,  or  dashed  to  pieces  on  the 
rocks  below. 


HOME  OF  SEA-BIRDS. 


At  a  later  period  in  the  season  they  go  and  get  the  young  birds,  and  then 
they  have  often  desperate  battles  with  the  old  ones,  who  will  not  give  up  fight- 
ing for  their  offspring  till  their  necks  are  broken,  or  their  brains  knocked  out 
with  a  club.  Where  the  cliffs  are  not  accessible  from  the  top,  they  go  round 
the  bottom  in  boats,  and  show  a  wonderful  agility  and  daring  in  scaling  the 
most  terrible  precipices. 

In  summer  they  get  the  eggs  and  the  fresh  meat  of  the  young  birds,  which 
they  also  salt  for  the  winter.  The  feathers  form  their  chief  article  of  export, 
besides  dried  and  salted  codfish,  and  with  these  they  procure  their  few  nec- 
essaries and  luxuries,  consisting  principally  of  clothing,  tobacco  and  snuff,  spir- 
its, fish-hooks  and  lines,  and  salt.  As  there  is  no  peat  on  these  islands,  nor 
dried  fish-bones  in  sufficient  quantity,  they  also  make  use  of  the  tough  old 
sea-birds  as  fuel.  For  this  purpose  they  split  them  open,  and  dry  them  on  the 
rocks. 

The  Westmans  form  a  separate  Syssel,  or  county,  and  they  have  a  church, 
and  usually  two  clergymen.  Their  church  was  rebuilt  of  stone,  at  the  expense 
of  the  Danish  Government,  in  1774,  and  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  best  in  Iceland. 


118  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

Unfortunately  the  two  clergymen  to  whom  the  spiritual  care  of  the  islanders  is 
confided  seem  to  have  but  a  very  indifferent  flock,  for  their  neighbors  on  the 
mainland  give  i-ather  a  bad  character  to  the  inhabitants  of  Heimaey,  describing 
them  as  groat  sluggards  and  d/unkards. 

The  population,  which  was  formerly  more  considerable,  amounts  to  about 
200  souls,  but  even  this  is  more  than  might  be  expected  from  the  dreadful  mor- 
tality which  reigns  among  the  children.  The  eggs  and  the  oily  flesh  of  sea-birds 
furnish  a  miserable  food  for  infants,  particularly  when  weaned,  as  is  here  cus- 
tomary, at  a  very  early  age ;  but  the  poor  islanders  have  nothing  else  to  give 
them,  except  some  fish,  and  a  very  insufiicient  quantity  of  cow's  or  sheep's  milk. 
This  unhealthy  diet,  along  with  the  boisterous  air,  gives  i;ise  to  an  incurable  in- 
fantile disease,  called  Ginklo^  {tetanus).  Its  first  symptoms  are  squinting  and 
rolling  of  the  eyes,  the  muscles  of  the  back  are  seized  with  incipient  cramps  and 
become  stiff.  After  a  day  or  two  lock-jaw  takes  place,  the  back  is  bent  like  a 
bow,  either  backward  or  forward.  The  lock-jaw  prevents  swallowing,  and  the 
cramps  become  more  frequent  and  prolonged  until  death  closes  the  scene.  The 
same  disease  is  said  to  decimate  the  children  on  St.  Kilda  in  consequence  of  a 
similar  mode  of  life. 

The  only  means  of  pi-eserving  the  infants  of  Heimaey  from  the  Ginklofi,  is  to 
send  them  as  soon  as  possible  to  the  mainland  to  be  reared,  and  thus  a  long  con- 
tinuance of  bad  weather  is  a  death-warrant  to  many. 

Who  would  suppose  that  the  Westman  Islanders,  doubly  guarded  by  their 
poverty  and  almost  inaccessible  cliffs,  could  ever  have  become  the  prey  of  free- 
booters ?  and  yet  they  have  been  twice  attacked  and  pillaged,  and  well-nigh  ex- 
terminated by  sea-rovers. 

I  have  already  mentioned,  in  a  previous  chapter,  that  before  the  discovery  of 
the  banks  of  ISTewfoundland,  the  English  cod-fishers  used  to  resort  in  great  num- 
bers to  the  coasts  of  Iceland,  where  some  of  them — now  and  then — appeared 
also  in  the  more  questionable  character  of  corsairs.  One  of  these  worthies,  who, 
like  Paul  Clifford,  or  Captain  Macheath,  so  effectually  united  the  suaviter  in 
modo  with  the  fortiter  in  re,  as  to  have  merited  the  name  of  "Gentleman  John," 
came  to  the  Westmans  in  1614  and  set  the  church  on  fire,  after  having  previous- 
ly removed  the  little  that  was  worth  taking.  After  this  exploit  he  returned  to 
Great  Britain,  but  King  James  I.  had  him  hung,  and  ordered  the  church  orna- 
ments which  he  had  robbed  to  be  restored  to  the  poor  islanders.  It  was,  how- 
ever, written  in  the  book  of  fate  that  they  were  not  to  enjoy  them  long,  for  in 
1627,  a  vessel  of  Algerine  pirates,  after  plundering  several  places  on  the  eastern 
and  southern  coasts  of  Iceland,  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  on  Heimaey.  These  mis- 
creants, compared  with  whom  John  was  a  "  gentleman  "  indeed,  cut  down  every 
man  who  ventured  to  oppose  them,  plundered  and  burnt  the  new-built  church, 
and  every  hovel  of  the  place,  and  carried  away  about  400  prisoners — men, 
women,  and  children.  One  of  the  two  clergymen  of  the  island,  Jon  Torsteinson, 
was  murdered  at  the  time.  This  learned  and  pious  man  had  translated  the 
Psalms  of  David  and  the  Book  of  Genesis  into  Icelandic  verse,  and  is  spoken 
of  as  the  "  martyr  "  in  the  history  of  the  land.     The  other  clergyman,  Olaf  Egil- 


THE   WESTMAN  ISLANDS.  119 

son,  with  his  wife  and  children,  and  the  rest  of  the  prisoners,  was  sold  into 
slavery  in  Algiers.  The  account  of  his  sufferings  and  privations,  which  he 
wrote  in  the  Icelandic  language,  was  afterwards  translated  and  published  in 
Danish. 

It  was  not  until  1636,  nine  years  after  their  capture,  that  the  unfortunate 
Heimaeyers  were  released,  and  then  only  by  being  ransomed  by  the  King  of 
Denmark.  Such  was  the  misery  they  had  endured  from  their  barbarous  task- 
masters, that  only  thirty-seven  of  the  whole  number  survived,  and  of  these  but 
thirteen  lived  to  return  to  their  native  island. 


120 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


II 


FISHING   IN   NOKWAY. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

FROM  DEONTHEIM  TO  THE  NORTH  CAPE. 

Mild  Climate  of  the  Norwegian  Coast. — Its  Causes. — The  Norwegian  Peasant. — Norwegian  Constitution. — 
Romantic  coast  Scenerj'.— Drontheim. — Greiffenfeld  Holme  and  Vare.— The  Sea-eagle.— The  Heirmg- 
fisheries.— TheLofoten  Islands.— The  Cod-fisheries.— "Wretched  Condition  of  the  Fishermen.— Tromso- 
— Altenfiord.— The  Copper  Mines. — Hammerfest  the  most  northern  Town  in  the  World.— The  Nortli 
Cape. 

OF  all  the  lands  situated  either  within  or  near  the  Arctic  Circle  none  enjoys 
a  more  temperate  climate  than  the  Norwegian  coast.  Here,  and  nowhere 
else  throughout  the  northern  world,  the  birch  and  the  fir-tree  climb  the  mount- 
ain-slopes to  a  height  of  TOO  or  800  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  as  far  as  the 


FROM   DRONTHEIM   TO   THE   NORTH   CAPE.  121 

70th  degree  of  latitude ;  here  we  still  find  a  flourishing  agriculture  in  the  inte- 
rior of  the  Malanger  Fjord  in  69°.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Polar  Ctcean 
extends  the  inaccessible  ice  belt  of  East  Greenland;  Spitzbergen  and  Nova 
Zembla  are  not  400  miles  distant  from  Talvig  and  Haramerfest,  and  yet  these 
ports  are  never  blocked  with  ice,  and  even  in  the  depth  of  winter  remain  con- 
stantly open  to  navigation.  What  are  the  causes  which  in  this  favored  region 
banish  the  usual  rigors  of  the  Arctic  zone  ?  How  comes  it  that  the  winter  even 
at  the  North  Cape  (mean  temperature  +22°)  is  much  less  severe  than  at  Que- 
bec (mean  temperature  +14°),  which  is  situated  25°  of  latitude  nearer  to  the 
equator  ? 

The  high  mountain  chains  Avhich  separate  Norway  from  Sweden  and  Fin- 
land, and  keep  off  the  eastern  gales  issuing  from  the  Siberian  wastes,  while  its 
coasts  lie  open  to  the  mild  south-westerly  winds  of  the  Atlantic,  no  doubt  ac- 
count in  some, measure  for  the  comparative  mildness  of  its  climate;  but  the 
main  cause  of  this  phenomenon  must  no  doubt  be  sought  for  in  the  sea.  Flow- 
ing into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  between  Florida  and  Cuba,  the  warm  Gulf  Stream 
traverses  the  sea  from  west  to  east,  and  although  about  the  middle  of  its  course 
it  partly  turns  to  the  south,  yet  a  considerable  portion  of  its  waters  flows  on- 
ward to  the  north-east,  and  streaming  through  the  wide  portal  between  Iceland 
and  Great  Britain,  eventually  reaches  the  coasts  of  Norway.  Of  course  its 
warmth  diminishes  as  it  advances  to  the  north,  but  this  is  imparted  to  the 
winds  that  sweep  over  it,  and  thus  it  not  merely  brings  the  seeds  of  tropical 
plants  from  Equatorial  America  to  the  coasts  of  Norway,  but  also  the  far  more 
important  advantages  of  a  milder  temperature. 

The  soil  of  Norway  is  generally  rocky  and  sterile,  but  the  sea  amply  makes 
up  for  the  deficiencies  of  the  land,  and  with  the  produce  of  their  fisheries,  of 
their  forests,  and  their  mines,  the  inhabitants  are  able  to  purchase  the  few  for- 
eign articles  which  they  require.  Though  poor,  and  not  seldom  obliged  to  reap 
the  gifts  of  nature  amidst  a  thousand  hardships  and  dangers,  they  envy  no  other 
nation  upon  earth. 

The  Norwegian  peasant  is  a  free  man  on  the  scanty  bit  of  ground  which  he 
has  inherited  from  his  fathers,  and  he  has  all  the  virtues  of  a  freeman — an  open 
character,  a  mind  clear  of  every  falsehood,  a  hospitable  heart  for  the  stranger. 
His  religious  feelings  are  deep  and  sincere,  and  the  Bible  is  to  be  found  in  every 
hut.  He  is  said  to  be  indolent  and  phlegmatic,  but  when  necessity  urges  he  sets 
vigorously  to  work,  and  never  ceases  till  his  task  is  done.  His  courage  and  his 
patriotism  are  abundantly  proved  by  a  history  of  a  thousand  years. 

Norway  owes  her  present  prosperity  chiefly  to  her  liberal  constitution.  The 
press  is  completely  free,  and  the  power  of  the  king  extremely  limited.  All 
privileges  and  hereditary  titles  are  aboUshed.  The  Parliament,  or  the  "  Stor- 
thing," which  assembles  every  three  years,  consists  of  the  "  Odelthing,"  or  Up- 
per House,  and  of  the  "  Logthing,"  or  Legislative  Assembly.  Every  new  law  re- 
quires the  royal  sanction ;  but  if  the  Storthing  has  voted  it  in  three  successive 
sittings,  it  is  definitively  adopted  in  spite  of  the  royal  veto.  Public  education 
is  admirably  cared  for.  There  is  an  elementary  school  in  every  village,  and 
where  the  population  is  too  thinly  scattered,  the  schoolmaster  may  truly  be  said 


12S 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


to  be  abroad,  as  he  wanders  from  farm  to  farm,  so  that  the  most  distant  fami- 
lies £ave  the  benefit  of  his  instruction.  Every  town  has  its  public  library,  and 
in  many  districts  the  peasants  annually  contribute  a  dollar  towards  a  collection 
of  books,  which,  under  the  care  of  the  priest,  is  lent  out  to  all  subscribers.  No 
Norwegian  is  confirmed  who  does  not  know  how  to  read,  and  no  Norwegian  is 
allowed  to  marry  who  has  not  been  confirmed.  He  who  attains  his  twentieth 
vear  without  having  been  confirmed  has  to  fear  the  House  of  Correction.  Thus 
ignorance  is  punished  as  a  crime  in  Norway,  an  excellent  example  for  far  richer 
and  more  powerful  nations. 

The  population  of  Norway  amounts  to  about  1,350,000,  but  these  are  very 
unequally  distributed ;  for  while  the  southern  province  of  Aggerhuus  has  513,000 
inhabitants  on  a  surface  of  35,200  square  miles,  Nordland  has  only  59,000  on 
16,325,  and  Finmark,  the  most  northern  province  of  the  land,  but  38,000  on 
29,925,  or  hardly  more  than  one  inhabitant  to  every  square  mile.  But  even  this 
scanty  population  is  immense  Avhen  compared  with  that  of  Eastern  Siberia  or 
of  the  Hudson  s  Bay  territories,  and  entirely  owes  its  existence  to  the  mildness 
of  the  climate  and  the  open  sea,  which  at  all  seasons  affords  its  produce  to  the 
fisherman. 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  more  secluded,  solitary  life  than  that  of  the  "  bond- 
ers," or  peasant  proprietors,  along  the  northern  coasts  of  Norway.  The  farms, 
confined  to  the  smaU  patches  of  more  fruitful  ground  scattered  along  the  fjords, 
at  the  foot  or  on  the  sides  of  the  naked  mountains,  are  frequently  many  miles 
distant  from  their  neighbors,  and  the  stormy  winter  cuts  off  all  communication 


KOKWEGIAN   FAKM. 


FROM  DRONTHEIM  TO   THE   NORTH   CAPE. 


123 


iiAMlI^G   ALONG   THE    COAST. 


between  them.  Thus  every  family,  reduced  to  its  own  resources,  forms  as  it  were 
a  small  commonwealth,  which  has  but  little  to  do  with  the  external  world,  and 
is  obliged  to  rely  for  its  happiness  on  internal  harmony,  and  a  moderate  com- 
petency. Strangers  seldom  invade  their  solitude,  for  they  are  far  from  the  or- 
dinary tracks  of  the  tourist,  and  yet  a  journey  from  Drontheim  to  Hammerfest 
and  the  North  Cape  affords  many  objects  of  interest  well  worthy  of  a  visit. 
The  only  mode  of  communication  is  by  sea,  for  the  land  is  everywhere  inter- 
sected by  deep  fjords,  bounded  by  one  continuous  chain  of  precipitous  cliffs  and 
rocks,  varying  from  one  thousand  to  four  thousand  feet  in  height.  Formerly, 
even  the  sea-voyage  was' attended  with  considerable  difficulties,  for  the  misera- 
ble "  yoegt,"  or  Scandinavian  sloop,  the  only  means  of  conveyance  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  traveller,  required  at  the  best  of  times  at  least  a  month  to  perform 
the  voyage  from  Drontheim  to  Hammerfest,  and  in  case  of  stormy  weather,  or 
contrary  wind,  had  often  to  wait  for  weeks  in  some  intermediate  port.  Now, 
however,  a  steamer  leaves  the  port  of  Drontheim  every  week,  and  conveys  the 
traveller  in  five  or  six  days  to  the  remote  northern  terminus  of  his  journey. 

Innumerable  ijsles  of  every  size,  from  a  few  yards  in  diameter  to  as  many 
miles,  stud  the  line  of  coast,  and  between  these  and  the  mainland  the  steamer 
ploughs  its  way.  Sometimes  the  channel  is  as  narrow  as  the  bed  of  a  river,  at 
others  it  expands  into  a  mighty  lake,  and  the  ever- varying  forms  of  the  isles,  of 
the  fjords,  and  of  the  mountains,  constantly  open  new  and  magnificent  prospects 
to  the  view.  One  grand  colossal  picture  follows  upon  another,  but  unfortu- 
nately few  or  none  show  the  presence  of  man.  From  time  to  time  only  some 
fishing-boat  makes  its  appearance  on  the  sea,  or  some  wooden  farm-house  rises 


124  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

on  the  solitary  beach.  On  advancing  farther  to  the  north,  the  aspect  of  nature 
becomes  more  and  more  stern,  vegetation  diminishes,  man  is  more  rarely  seen, 
and  the  traveller  feels  as  if  he  were  on  the  point  of  entering  the  gloomy  re- 
gions of  perpetual  death. 

With  the  sole  exception  of  Archangel,  Drontheim  is  the  most  populous  and 
important  town  situated  in  so  high  a  latitude  as  63°  24'.  Although  the  cradle 
of  ancient  Scandinavian  history,  and  the  residence  of  a  long  line  of  kings,  it  looks 
as  if  it  had  been  built  but  yesterday,  as  its  wooden  houses  have  frequently  been 
destroyed  by  fire.  The  choir  of  its  magnificent  cathedral,  built  in  the  eleventh 
century,  and  once  the  resort  of  innumerable  pilgrims  who  came  flocking  to  the 
shrine  of  St.  Olave  from  all  Scandinavia,  is  the  only  remaining  memorial  of  the 
old  Tronyem  of  the  Norse  annalists  and  scalds.  The  modern  town  has  a  most 
pleasing  and  agreeable  appearance,  and  the  lively  colors  with  which  the  houses 
are  painted  harmonize  with  the  prosperity  of  its  inhabitants,  which  is  due  in  a 
great  measure  to  its  thriving  fisheries,  and  to  the  rich  iron  and  copper  mines  in 
its  neighborhood.  The  tall  chimneys  of  many  smelting-huts,  iron  foundries, 
and  other  manufactories,  bear  evidence  that  modern  industry  has  found  its  way 
to  the  ancient  capital  of  Norway,  In  point  of  picturesque  beauty,  the  bay,  on  a 
peninsula  of  which  the  town  is  situated,  does  not  yield  to  that  of  Naples.  Up 
and  down,  in  every  direction,  appear  the  villas  of  the  merchant,  and  ships  of 
all  burden  riding  at  anchor  in  the  bay,  and  boats  passing  and  repassing.  In  a 
small  island  of  the  bay,  fronting  the  town,  is  the  celebrated  castle  of  Munkholm, 
where  in  former  times  many  a  prisoner  of  state  has  bewailed  the  loss  of  his 
liberty.  Here,  among  others,  Greiffenfeld,  who  had  risen  from  obscurity  to  the 
rank  of  an  all-powerful  minister,  was  incarcerated  for  eighteen  years  (1680-98.) 
At  Hildringen,  Avhere  the  potato  is  still  cultivated  with  success,  and  barley 
ripens  every  four  or  five  years,  begins  the  province  of  Nordland,  which  extends 
from  65°  to  69°  30'  N,  lat.  The  mostly  uninhabited  isles  along  the  coast  are 
called  "  Holme,"  when  rising  like  steep  rocks  out  of  the  water,  and  "  Viire " 
when  tlat  and  but  little  elevated  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  latter  are  the 
breeding-places  of  numberless  sea-fowls,  whose 
eggs  yield  a  welcome  harvest  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  neighboring  mainland  or  of  the  larger 
islands.  A  well-stocked  egg-var  is  a  valuable 
addition  to  a  farm,  and  descends  from  father 
to  son,  along  with  the  pasture-grounds  and  the 
herds  of  the  paternal  land.  When  the  propri- 
etor comes  to  plunder  the  nests,  the  birds  re- 
main quiet,  for  they  know  by  experience  tliat 
[<  only  the  superfluous  eggs  are  to  be  removed. 
c  But  not  unfrequently  strangers  land,  and  leave 
\  not  a  single  egg  behind.  Then  all  the  birds, 
several  thousands  at  once,  rise  from  their  nests 
and  fill  the  air  with  their  doleful  cries.  If  such 
disasters  occur  repeatedly  they  lose  courage,  and,  abandoning  the  scene  of  their 
misfortunes,  retire  to  another  viir.     Most  of  these  birds  are  sea-gulls  {Maasfugl, 


THE   PUFFIN. 


FROM  DRONTHEIM  TO  THE   NORTH   CAPE.  125 

or  Maage),  their  eggs  are  large,  and  of  a  not  disagreeable  taste.  The  island  of 
Lovunnen  is  the  favorite  breeding-place  of  the  puffin,  which  is  highly  esteemed 
on  account  of  its  feathers.  This  silly  bird  is  very  easily  caught.  The  fowler 
lets  down  an  iron  hook,  or  sends  a  dog  trained  on  purpose  into  the  narrow 
clefts  or  holes  of  the  rock,  where  the  puffins  sit  crowded  together.  The  first 
bird  being  pulled  out,  the  next  one  bites  and  lays  hold  of  his  tail,  and  thus  in 
succession,  till  the  whole  family,  clinging  together  like  a  chain,  is  dragged  to 
light. 

This  rocky  coast  is  also  much  frequented  by  the  sea-eagle,  who  is  very  much 
feared  over  the  whole  province,  as  he  not  only  carries  away  Iambs  and  other 
small  animals,  but  even  assails  and  not  seldom  overpowers  the  Norwegian  oxen. 
His  mode  of  attack  is  so  singular  that  if  Von  Buch  had  not  heard  it  so  posi- 
tively and  so  circumstantially  related  in  various  places,  situated  at  great  dis- 
tances from  each  other,  he  would  willingly  have  doubted  its  truth.  The  eagle 
darts  down  into  the  waves,  and  then  rolls  about  with  his  Avet  plumage  on  the 
beach  until  his  wings  are  quite  covered  with  sand.  Then  he  once  more  rises 
into  the  air  and  hovers  over  his  intended  victim.  Swooping  down  close  to  him, 
he  claps  his  wings,  flings  the  sand  into  the  eyes  of  the  unfortunate  brute,  and 
thoroughly  scares  it  by  repeated  blows  of  his  pinions.  The  blinded  ox  rushes 
away  to  avoid  the  eagle's  attacks,  until  he  is  completely  exhausted  or  tumbles 
down  some  precipitoiis  cliff. 

The  sea-coast  from  Alston  to  Rodoe,  which  is  crossed  by  the  Arctic  Circle, 
is  particularly  rich  in  herrings,  as  it  furnishes  more  than  one-half  of  the  fish  ex- 
ported to  Bergen. 

In  respect  of  the  capital  invested,  the  cod-fishery  mnst  be  regarded  as  the 
most  important  of  the  Norwegian  deep-sea  fisheries,  but  in  the  number  of 
hands  employed,  the  herring-fishery  takes  precedence  The  number  of  men 
actually  engaged  in  the  latter  is  not  less  than  60,000,  and  considerably  moi'e 
than  double  that  number  are  directly  or  indirectly  interested  in  the  result  of 
their  operations.  The  herrings  taken  in  1866  filled  750,000  barrels,  each  weigh- 
ing 224  lbs.,  the  largest  catch  ever  taken  on  the  Norwegian  coast,  at  least  in 
recent  y^pars.  As  the  movements  of  the  fish  are  extremely  erratic,  large  shoals 
being  found  one  year  in  a  part  of  the  coast  where  none  will  be  seen  the  year 
following,  the  fishermen  are  forced  to  move  from  place  to  place,  and  formerly 
the  herrings  frequently  escaped  altogether  for  want  of  hands  to  capture  them. 
Now  this  difficulty  is  in  a  great  measure  removed.  Telegraph  stations  are 
erected  at  different  places  on  the  coast,  from  which  the  movements  of  the 
shoals  are  carefully  watched ;  and  field  telegraphs  are  kept  in  readiness  to  be 
joined  on  to  the  main  line,  so  as  to  summon  the  fishermen  from  every  part  of 
the  country  on  the  first  appearance  of  the  fish  at  any  new  point.  The  best 
time  for  the  herring-fishery  is  from  January  to  March,  and  in  1866,  200,000 
barrels,  or  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  total  catch,  were  caught  between  Feb- 
ruary 11th  and  14th. 

At  the  northern  extremity  of  the  province  of  Nordland,  between  68°  and 
69°  N.  lat,,  are  situated  the  Lofoten  Islands,  or  Vesteraalen  Oerne,  Avhich  are 
separated  from  the  mainland  by  the  Vestfjord.     This  broad  arm  of  the  sea  is 


126  THE  POLAR   WORLD. 

remarkable  both  for  its  violent  currents  and  whirlpools,  among  which  the  Mael- 
strom has  attained  a  world-wide  celebrity,  and  also  from  its  being  the  most 
northerly  limit  where  the  oyster  has  been  found.  But  it  is  chiefly  as  the  re- 
sort of  the  cod  that  the  Vestfjord  is  of  the  highest  importance,  not  only  to 
Nordland,  but  to  the  whole  of  Norway.  No  less  than  6000  boats  from  all 
parts  of  the  coast,  manned  probably  by  more  than  half  of  the  whole  adult  male 
population  of  Xordland,  annually  assemble  at  Vaage,  on  the  island  of  Ost  Vaa- 
goe,  and  besides  these,  more  than  300  yoegts,  or  larger  fishing-sloops,  ivom 
Bergen,  Christiansand,  and  Molde,  appear  upon  the  scene.  The  banks  of  New- 
foundland hardly  occupy  more  hands  than  the  fishing-grounds  of  the  Vestf- 
jord, which,  after  the  lapse  of  a  thousand  years,  continue  as  prolific  as  ever  ;* 
nor  is  there  an  instance  known  of  its  having  ever  disappointed  the  fisherman's 
hopes.  In  Harold  Haarfagr's  times,  Vaage  was  already  renowned  for  its  fish- 
eries, and  several  yarls  had  settled  in  this  northern  district,  to  reap  the  rich 
harvest  of  the  seas.  At  a  later  period,  under  the  reign  of  Saint  Olave  (1020), 
the  annual  Parliament  of  Nordland  was  held  at  Vaage,  and,  in  1 120,  the  benev- 
olent King  Eystein,  brother  of  Sigurd  the  Crusader,  caused  a  church  to  be 
erected  here  in  honor  of  his  saintly  predecessor,  along  with  a  number  of  huts, 
to  serve  as  a  shelter  to  the  poor  fishermen,  a  deed  which  he  himself  prized 
more  highly  than  all  his  chivalrous  brother's  warlike  exploits  in  the  East,  for 
"  these  men,"  said  he,  "  will  still  remember  in  distant  times  that  a  King  Ey- 
stein once  lived  in  Norway." 

The  reason  why  the  fish  never  cease  visiting  this  part  of  the  coast  is  that 
the  Lofoten  Isles  inclose,  as  it  were,  an  inland  or  mediterranean  sea,  which  only 
communicates  with  the  ocean  by  several  naiTow  channels  between  the  islands, 
and  where  the  fish  find  the  necessary  protection  against  stormy  weather.  They 
assemble  on  three  or  four  banks  well  known  to  the  fishermen,  seldom  arriving 
before  the  middle  of  January,  and  rarely  later  than  towards  the  end  of  Febru- 
ary. They  remain  in  the  sheltered  fjord  no  longer  than  is  necessary  for  spawn- 
ing, and  in  April  have  all  retired  to  the  deeper  waters,  so  that  the  whole  of 
the  fishing  season  does  not  last  longer  than  a  couple  of  months.  The  fish  are 
either  caught  by  hooks  and  lines,  or  more  frequently  in  large  nets  about  twen- 
ty fathoms  long  and  seven  or  eight  feet  broad,  buoyed  with  pieces  of  light 
wood,  and  lested  with  stones,  so  as  to  maintain  a  vertical  position  when  let 
down  in  the  water.  The  fish,  swimming  with  impetuous  speed,  darts  into  the 
meshes,  which  effectually  bar  his  retreat.  The  nets  are  always  spread  in  the 
evening,  and  hauled  up  in  the  morning ;  for  as  long  as  it  is  daylight,  the  fish 
sees  and  avoids  them,  even  at  a  depth  of  sixty  or  eighty  fathoms.  A  single 
haul  of  the  net  frequently  fills  half  the  boat,  and  the  heavy  fish  would  undoubt- 
edly tear  the  meshes  if  they  were  not  immediately  struck*  with  iron  hooks,  and 
flung  into  the  boat  as  soon  as  they  are  dragged  to  the  surface. 

Claus  Niels  Sliningen,  a  merchant  of  Borgund,  first  introduced  the  use  of 
these  nets  in  the  year  1685,  an  innovation  which  more  than  doubled  the  total 

*  In  18G6  the  total  catch  of  cod  was  21,000,000,  about  12,000,000  of  which  were  salted  (clip  fish),  and 
the  remainder  dried  (stocli-fish) ;  each  fish  making  on  an  average  2  lbs.  of  clip-fish,  and  one-fourth  less 
of  stock-fish. 


FROM  DRONTHEIM  TO  THE  NORTH  CAPE. 


127 


produce  of  the  fishevies.  But  (as  with  all  useful  inventions)  loud  complaints 
were  raised  against  him  in  Norway,  and  as  late  as  1762  no  nets  were  allowed 
at  Drontheim, "  to  prevent  the  ruin  of  the  poor  people  who  had  not  the  capital 
to  provide  themselves  with  them." 

The  life  of  a  fisherman  is  everywhere  full  of  privations  and  dangers,  but  no- 
where more  so  than  at  the  Lofoten  Islands.  Here,  after  toiling  on  the  stormy 
sea  for  many  hours,  he  has  nothing  but  the  miserable  shelter  of  a  damp,  filthy, 
over-crowded  hut,  which  affords  him  neither  the  rest  nor  the  warmth  needed 
after  his  fatiguing  day's  work.  Even  the  iron-framed  sons  of  the  North  are 
frequently  unable  to  resist  such  continuous  hardships,  and. bring  home  with 
them  the  seeds  of  contagion  and  death.  Malignant  fevers  have  frequently  dec- 
imated the  population  of  Norway,  and  their  origin  may  generally  be  traced  to 


THE  DOVKEFJELD. 


the  fishing-grounds.  "  The  Arab  and  the  Persian,"  says  Leopold  von  Buch, 
"  build  caravanseras  for  the  wayfarers  through  the  desert ;  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Alps  have  founded  '  hospices  '  on  the  summits  of  the  mountain  passes  ;  and 
the  Norwegian  has  erected  houses  of  refuge  on  Dovrefjeld,  but  none  for  the 
fishermen  of  Lofoten.  Near  Rodoe  there  is  a  large  hospital  for  the  sick  of 
Nordland ;  would  it  not  be  as  well  to  build  fiouses  in  Lofoten,  so  as  not  to 
crowd  the  hospitals  and  churchyards  ?"  This  was  written  at  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century,  but  the  poor  fishermen  are  still  as  neglected  as  ever,  for  a 
more  recent  traveller,  Marmier,  beheld  with  pity  the  wretched  huts  in  which 
they  spend  three  winter  months  far  from  their  families. 

In  the  channel  between  Hvalo  and  the  mainland  lies,  in  69"  45'  N.  lat,  the 


128  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

small  island  of  Tromso,  where  about  fifty  years  since  only  a  few  fishermen  re- 
sided, whose  huts  have  gradually  expanded  into  a  thi-iving  little  town  of  about 
3000  inhabitants,  along  the  shore  opposite  the  mainland.  Its  staple  exports 
are  dried  and  salted  cod,  and  train-oil.  The  livers  of  the  cod  are  put  in  open 
barrels  and  placed  in  the  sun,  and  the  melted  portion  which  rises  to  the  sur- 
face is  skimmed  off,  being  the  purest  oil.  The  coarse  refuse  is  boiled  in  great 
iron  pots  by  the  side  of  the  sea,  and  yields  the  common  "  train-oil."  The  mus- 
cular matter  which  remains  is  collected  into  barrels  and  exported  as  a  powerful 
manure  ;  some  of  it  is  sent  to  England. 

The  town  consists  mainly  of  one  long  straggling  street,  following  the  wind- 
ings of  the  shore,  and  has  a  picturesque  appearance  from  the  harbor.  The 
houses  are  all  of  wood  painted  with  lively  colors,  and  the  roofs,  mostly  covered 
with  grass,  diversified  with  bright  clusters  of  yellow  and  white  flowers,  look 
pretty  in  summer,  Tromso  has  a  Latin  school,  and  even  boasts  of  a  news- 
paper, the  IVomso  Tldende  et  Blan  for  Nordland  og  Finmarken  ("The 
Tromso  Gazette,  a  paper  for  Nordland  and  Finmark").  This  paper  is  publish- 
ed twice  a  week ;  and  as  only  one  mail  arrives  at  Tromso  every  three  weeks, 
the  foreign  news  is  given  by  instalments,  spreading  over  six  successive  num- 
bers, until  a  fresh  dispatch  arrives. 

The  island  of  Tromso  is  beautifully  situated,  being  on  all  sides  environed 
by  mountains,  so  that  it  seems  to  lie  in  the  midst  of  a  huge  salt  lake.  Its  sur- 
face rises  in  gentle  slopes  to  a  tolerable  elevation,  and  no  other  Arctic  isle  con- 
tains richer  pasturage,  or  dwarf  plantations  of  greater  luxuriance.  Many 
meadows  are  yellow  with  buttercups  and  picturesque  underwood,  and  the 
heathy  hills  are  covered  with  shrubs,  tearing  bright  berries  of  many  hues. 
The  pride  of  the  Tromsoites  in  their  island  and  town,  and  their  profound  at- 
tachment to  it,  are  remarkable.  No  Swiss  can  be  more  enthusiastically  bound 
to  his  mountains  and  vales,  than  they  are  to  their  circumscribed  domain. 

To  the  north  of  Tromso  lies  the  broad  and  deep  Altenfjord,  whose  borders 
are  studded  Avith-  numerous  dwellings,  and  where  the  botanist  meets  with  a 
vegetation  that  may  Avell  raise  his  astonishment  in  so  high  a  latitude.  Here 
the  common  birch-tree  grows  1450  feet,  and  the  Vaccinium  myrtillus  2030 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea;  the  dwarf  birch  {Betula  oiana)  still  vegetates 
at  a  height  of  2740  feet,  and  the  Arctic  willow  is  even  found  as  high  as  3500 
feet,  up  to  the  limits  of  perennial  snow. 

Alten  is  moreover  celebrated  through  its  copper-mines.  A  piece  of  ore  hav- 
ing been  found  by  a  Lap-woman  in  the  year  1825,  accidentally  fell  into  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Crowe,  an  English  merchant  in  Hammerfest.  This  gentleman  immediate- 
ly took  measures  for  obtaining  a  privilege  from  Government  for  the  working  of 
the  mines,  and  all  preliminaries  being  arranged,  set  off  for  London,  where  he 
founded  a  company,  with  a  capital  of  £75,000,  When  Marmier  visited  the  Al- 
tenfjord in  1842,  more  than  1100  workmen  were  employed  in  these  most  north- 
erly mining-icorks  of  the  world,  and  not  seldom  more  than  ten  English  vessels 
at  a  time  were  busy  unloading  coals  at  Kaafjord  for  the  smelting  of  the  ores. 
New  copper-works  had  recently  been  opened  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  bay  at 
Raipass,  and  since  then  the  establishment  has  considerably  increased. 


FROM  DRONTHEIM  TO   THE  NORTH  CAPE.  129 

Ilarnmerfest,  the  capital  of  Finraark,  situated  on  the  Avest  side  of  the  island 
of  Hvaio,  in  70°  39'  15",  is  the  most  northern  town  in  the  world.  Half  a  centu- 
ry since,  it  had  but  44  inhabitants  ;  at  ijresent  its  population  amounts  to  1200. 
As  at  Tromso,  very  many  of  the  houses,  forming  one  long  street  winding  round 
the  shore,  have  grass  sown  on  their  roofs,  which  gives  the  latter  the  appearance 
of  little  plots  of  meadows.  With  us  the  expression,  "  he  sleeps  with  grass  above 
his  head,"  is  equivalent  to  saying  "  he  is  in  his  gi-ave ;"  but  here  it  may  only 
mean  that  he  sleeps  beneath  the  verdant  roof  of  his  daily  home.  Many  large 
warehouses  are  built  on  piles  projecting  into  the  water,  with  landing-quays  be- 
fore them ;  and  numerous  ranges  of  open  sheds  are  filled  with  reindeer  skins, 
wolf  and  bear  skins,  walrus  tusks,  reindeer  horns,  train-oil,  and  dried  fish,  ready 
for  exportation.  The  chief  home  traific  of  Hamraerfest  consists  in  barter  with 
the  Laps,  who  exchange  their  reindeer  skins  for  brandy,  tobacco,  hardware,  and 
cloth.  Some  enterprising  merchants  annually  fit  out  vessels  for  walrus  and 
seal  hunting  at  Spitzbergen  and  Bear  Island,  but  the  principal  trade  is  with 
Archangel,  and  is  carried  on  entirely  in  "  lodjes,"  or  White  Sea  ships,  with  thi'ee 
single  upright  masts,  each  hoisting  a  hnge  try-sail.  These  vessels  supply  Ham- 
merfest  with  Russian  rye,  meal,  candles,  etc.,  and  receive  stock-fish  and  train-oil 
in  exchange.     Sometimes,  also,  an  English  ship  arrives  with  a  supply  of  coals. 

Tlie  fishing-grounds  off  the  coast  of  Finmark,  wliose  produce  forms  the  sta- 
ple article  of  the  merchants  of  Hammerfest,  are  scarcely  inferior  in  importance  to 
those  of  Lofoten,  the  number  of  cod  taken  here  in  1866  amounting  to  15,000,000. 
A  great  part  of  the  fish  is  purchased  by  the  Russians  as  it  comes  out  of  the 
watca-.  Of  the  prepared  cod,  Spain  takes  the  largest  quantity,  as  in  1865  up- 
wards of  44,000,000  lbs.  of  clip-fish  (nearly  the  whole  yield  for  the  year)  Avas 
consigned  to  that  country.  Of  the  dried  variety,  10,000,000  lbs.  were  exported 
to  the  Mediterranean,  and  upwards  of  4,000,000  lbs.  more  to  Italy.  Sweden 
and  Holland  come  next  in  order,  the  supply  in  each  case  being  over  5,000,000 
lbs.  '  Great  Britain  takes  scarcely  any  stock-fish, but  l,500,000'lbs.  of  clip-fish, 
and  the  large  export  to  the  West  Indies  is  almost  entirely  composed  of  the  lat- 
ter article. 

The  winter,  though  long  and  dark,  has  no  terrors  for  the  jolly  Ilammerfest- 
ers,  for  all  the  traders  and  shopkeepers  form  a  united  aristocracy,  and  rarely  a 
night  passes  without  a  feast,  a  dance,  and  a  drinking-bout.  The  day  when  the 
sun  re-appears  is  one  of  general  rejoicing ;  the  first  who  sees  the  great  luminary 
proclaims  it  with  a  loud  voice,  and  every  body  rushes  into  the  street  to  exchange 
congratulations  with  his  neighbors.  The  island  of  Ilvalo  has  a  most  dreary,  ster- 
ile aspect,  and  considerable  masses  of  snow  fill  the  ravines  even  in  summer. 
The  birch,  however,  is  still  found  growing  620  feet  above  the  sea,  but  the  fir 
has  disappeared.  > 

It  may  well  be  supposed  that  no  stranger  has  ever  sojourned  in  this  interest- 
ing place,  the  farthest  outpost  of  civilization  towards  the  Pole,  without  visiting, 
or  at  least  attempting  to  visit,  the  far-famed  North  Cape,  situated  about  sixty 
miles  from  Hammerfest,  on  the  island  of  Magero,  where  a  few  Norwegians  live 
in  earthen  huts,  and  still  manage  to  rear  a  few  heads  of  cattle.  The  voyage  to 
this  magnificent  headland,  which  fronts  the  sea  with  a  steep  rock-wall  nearly  a 


130  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

thousand  feet  high,  is  frequently  difficult  and  precarious,  nor  can  it  be  scaled 
witliout  considerable  fatigue  ;  but  the  view  from  the  summit  amply  rewards 
the  trouble,  and  it  is  no  small  satisfaction  to  stand  on  the  brink  of  the  most 
northern  promontory  of  Europe. 

"  It  is  impossible,"  says  ]\Ir.  W.  Hurton, "  adequately  to  describe  the  emo- 
tion experienced  by  me  as  I  stepped  up  to  the  dizzy  verge,  I  only  know  that  I 
devoutly  returned  thanks  to  the  Almighty  for  thus  permitting  me  to  realize  one 
darling  dream  of  my  boyhood.  Despite  the  wind,  which  here  blew  violently 
and  bitterly  cold,  I.  sat  down,  and  wrapping  my  cloak  around  me,  long  contem- 
plated the  spectacle  of  Nature  in  one  of  her  sublimest  aspects.  I  was  truly 
alone.  Xot  a  living  object  was  in  sight ;  beneath  my  feet  was  the  boundless 
expanse  of  ocean,  with  a  sail  or  two  on  its  bosom  at  an  immense  distance; 
above  me  was  the  canopy  of  heaven, flecked  with  fleecy  cloudlets;  the  sun  was 
luridly  gleaming  over  a  broad  belt  of  blood-red  mist ;  the  only  sounds  were  the 
whistling  of  the  wandering  winds  and  the  occasional  plaintive  scream  of  the 
hovering  sea-fowl.  The  only  living  creature  which  came  near  me  was  a  bee, 
which  hummed  merrily  by.  What  did  the  busy  insect  seek  there?  Not  a 
blade  of  grass  grew,  and  the  only  vegetable  matter  on  this  point  was  a  cluster 
of  withered  moss  at  the  very  edge  of  the  awful  precipice,  and  this  I  gathered,  at 
considerable  risk,  as  a  memorial  of  the  visit." 


SPITZBERGEN— BEAR  ISLAND— JAN  MEYEN. 


131 


-^-i^S 


MIKXIGHI   SUN   OFF   SPITZBEKGEN. 


CHAPTER  X. 

SPITZBERGEN— BEAR  ISLAND— JAN  MEYKN. 

The  west  Coast  of  Spitzbergen.— Ascension  of  a  Mountain  by  Dr.  Scoresby.— His  Excursion  along  tlie 
Coast.— A  stranded  Whale.— Magdalena  Bay.— Multitudes  of  Sea-birds.— Animal  Life.— Midnight 
Silence.— Glaciers.— A  dangerous  Neighborhood.— Interior  Plateau.— Flora  of  Spitzbergen. — Its 
Similarity  with  that  of  the  Alps  above  the  Snow-line.— Reindeer.— The  hyperborean  Ptarmigan.— 

Fishes. Coal.— Drift-wood.— Discovery  of  Spitzbergen  by  Barentz,  Heemsiieik,  and  Ryp.— Brilliant 

Period  of  the  Whale-fishery.— Coffins.— Eight  English  Sailors  winter  in  Spitzbergen,  1630.— Jlelan- 
choly  Death  of  .some  Dutch  Volunteers.— Russian  Hunters.— Their  Mode  of  wintering  in  Spitzber- 
gen.—Scharostin.— Walrus-ships  from  Hammerfest  and  Tromso.— Bear  or  Cherie  Island —Bennet. 
—Enormous  Slaughter  of  Walruses.— Mildness  of  itsCliniate.— Mount  Misery. —Adventurous  Boat- 
voyage  of  some  Norwegian  Sailors.— Jan  Meyen.— Beerenberg. 

THE  archipelago  of  Spitzbergen  consists  of  five  large  islands :  West  Spitz- 
bergen, North-east  Land,  Stans  Foreland,  Barentz  Land,  Prince  Charles 
Foreland  ;  and  of  a  vast  number  of  smaller  ones,  scattered  around  their  coasts. 
Its  surface  is  about  equal  to  that  of  two-thirds  of  Scotland ;  its  most  southern 
point  (Y6°  30'  N.  lat.)  lies  nearer  to  the  Pole  than  Melville  Island ;  and  Ross 
^  Islet,  at  its  northern  extremity  (80°  49'  N.  lat.),  looks  out  upon  the  unknown 
ocean,  which  perhaps  extends  without  interruption  as  far  as  the  Straits  of 
Bering. 

Of   all   the  Arctic  countries   that  have  hitherto  been  discovered,  Grinnell 


133  TIIE   POLAR   WORLD. 

Land  and  Washington  alone  lie  nearei-  to  the  Pole ;  but  while  these  ice-block- 
ed regions  can  only  be  reached  M-ith  the  utmost  difficulty,  the  western  and 
north-western  coasts  of  Spitzbergen,  exposed  to  the  mild  south-westerly  winds, 
and  to  the  influence  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  are  frequently  visited,  not  only  by 
walrus-hunters  and  Arctic  explorers,  but  by  amateur  travellers  and  sportsmen. 

The  eastern  coasts  are  far  less  accessible,  and  in  parts  have  never  yet  been 
accurately  explored.  As  far  as  they  are  known,  they  are  not  so  bold  and  in- 
dented as  the  western  and  north-western  coasts,  which,  projectins;  in  mighty 
capes  or  opening  a  passage  to  deep  fjords,  have  been  gnawed  into  every  varie- 
ty of  fantastic  form  by  the  corroding  power  of  an  eternal  Avinter,  and  justify, 
by  their  endless  succession  of  jagged  spikes  and  break-neck  acclivities,  the 
name  of  Spitzbei-gen,  which  its  first  Dutch  discoverers  gave  to  this  laud  of 
"  serrated  peaks." 

The  mountains  on  the  west  coast  are  very  steep,  many  of  them  inaccessible, 
and  most  of  them  dangerous  to  climb,  either  from  the  smooth  hard  snow  with 
which  they  are  encrusted  even  in  summer,  or  from  the  looseness  of  the  disin- 
tegrated stones  which  cover  the  parts  denuded  by  the  sun,  and  give  way  un- 
der the  slightest  pressure  of  the  foot. 

More  than  one  daring  seaman  has  paid  dearly  for  his  temerity  in  venturing 
to  scale  these  treacherous  heights.  The  supercargo,  or  owner,  of  the  very  first 
Dutch  whaler  that  visited  Spitzbergen  (1612)  broke  his  neck  in  attempting  to 
climb  a  steep  mountain  in  Prince  Charles  Foreland,  and  Barentz  very  nearly 
lost  several  of  his  men  under  similar  circumstances.  Dr.  Scoresby,  who  in  the 
course  of  his  whaling  expeditions  touched  at  Spitzbergen  no  less  than  seven- 
teen times,  was  more  successful  in  scaUng  a  mountain  3000  feet  high,  near 
Mitre  Cape,  though  the  approach  to  the  summit  was  by  a  ridge  so  narrow  that 
he  could  only  advance  by  sitting  astride  upon  its  edge..  But  the  panorama 
which  he  beheld,  after  having  attained  his  object,  amply  repaid  him  for  the 
danger  and  fatigue  of  clambering  for  several  hours  over  loose  stones,  which  at 
every  step  rolled  with  fearful  rapidity  into  the  abyss  beneath. 

"  The  prospect,"  says  the  distinguished  naturalist,  "  was  most  extensive  and 
grand.  A  fine  sheltered  bay  was  seen  to  the  east  of  us ;  an  arm  of  the  same 
on  the  north-east ;  and  the  sea,  whose  glassy  surface  was  unrufiled  by  a  breeze, 
formed  an  immense  expanse  on  the  west ;  the  icebergs,  rearing  their  proud  crests 
almost  to  the  tops  of  the  mountains  between  which  they  were  lodged,  and  de-' 
fying  the  power  of  the  solar  beams,  were  scattered  in  various  directions  about 
the  sea-coast  and  in  the  adjoining  bays.  Beds  of  snow  and  ice,  filling  extensive 
hollows  and  giving  an  enamelled  coat  to  adjoining  valleys,  one  of  which,  com- 
mencing at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  where  we  stood,  extended  in  a  continued 
line  towards  the  north  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  ;  mountain  rising  above 
mountain,  until  by  distance  they  dwindled  into  insignificance ;  the  whole  con- 
trasted by  a  cloudless  canopy  of  deepest  azure,  and  enlightened  by  the  rays  of 
a  blazing  sun,  and  the  effect  aided  by  a  feeling  of  danger — seated,  as  we  were,  . 
on  the  pinnacle  of  a  rock,'^lmost  surrounded  by  tremendous  precipices ;  all 
united  to  constitute  a  picture  singiilarly  sublime. 

"  Our  descent  we  found  really  a  very  hazardous,  and  in  some  instances  a 


SPITZBERGEN— BEAR  ISLAND— JAN  IklEYEN.  133 

painful  undertaking.  Every  movement  was  a  work  of  deliberation.  Having, 
by  much  care  and  with  some  anxiety,  made  good  our  descent  to  the  top  of  the 
secondary  hills,  we  took  our  way  down  one  of  the  steepest  banks,  and  slid  for- 
ward with  great  facility  in  a  sitting  posture.  Towards  the  foot  of  the  hill  an 
expanse  of  snow  stretched  across  the  line  of  descent.  This  being  loose  and 
soft,  we  entered  upon  it  without  fear,  but  on  reaching  the  middle  of  it,  we 
came  to  a  surface  of  solid  ice,  perhaps  a  hundred  yards  across,  over  which  we 
launched  with  astonishing  velocity,  but  happily  escaped  without  injury.  The 
men,  whom  we  left  below,  viewed  this  latter  movement  with  astonishment  and 
fear." 

After  this  perilous  descent,  Scoresby  continued  his  excursion  on  the  flat  land 
next  the  sea,  where  he  found  scattered  here  and  there  many  skulls  and  other 
bones  of  sea-horses,  whales,  narwhals,  foxes,  and  seals.  Two  Russian  lodges, 
formed  of  logs  of  pine,  with  a  third  in  ruins,  were  also  seen ;  the  former,  from 
a  quantity  of  fresh  chips  about  them  and  other  appearances,  gave  evidence  of 
having  been  recently  inhabited.  These  huts  were  built  upon  a  ridge  of  shingle 
adjoining  the  sea.  Among  the  boulders  heaped  upon  the  shore,  numerous  sea- 
birds  had  built  their  nests  or  laid  their  eggs,  which  they  defended  Avith  loud 
cries  and  determined  courage  against  the  attacks  of  gulls.  The  only  insect  he 
perceived  was  a  small  green  fly,  but  the  water  along  the  coast  was  filled  with 
medusse  and  shrimps.  The  strong  north-west  winds  had  covered  the  strand 
with  large  heaps  of  Fucus  vesiculosus  and  Lmninaria  so.ccharina,  the  same 
which  the  storms  also  cast  out  upon  our  shores. 

The  view  of  this  high  northern  life  was  extremely  interesting,  but  Dr. 
Scoresby  was  still  further  rewarded  by  the  discovery  of  a  dead  whale,  found 
stranded  on  the  beach,  which,  though  much  swollen  and  not  a  little  putrid, 
proved  a  prize  worth  at  least  £400.  By  a  harpoon  found  in  its  body,  it  appear- 
ed to  have  been  struck  by  some  of  the  fishers  on  the  Elbe,  and  having  escaped 
from  them,  it  had  probably  stranded  itself  on  the  spot  Avhere  it  was  found. 
When  the  first  incision  was  made,  the  oil  gushed  forth  like  a  fountain.  It  was 
a  slow  and  laborious  work  to  transport  the  blubber  to  the  ship,  which  on  ac- 
count of  the  dangerous  nature  of  the  coast  was  obliged  to  remain  two  miles 
off  at  sea.  After  five  boat-loads  had  safely  been  brought  on  board,  the  wind 
suddenly  changed,  so  that  the  ship  was  driven  far  out  to  sea,  and  the  boat 
reached  her  with  great  difiiculty. 

Of  the  numerous  fjords  of  Spitzbergen,  once  the  busy  resort  of  Avhole  fleets 
of  whalers,  and  now  but  rarely  visited  by  man,  none  has  been  more  accurately 
described  by  modern  Arctic  voyagers  than  the  magnificent  harbor  of  Magda- 
lena  Bay.  Here  the  Dorothea  and  the  Trent  anchored  in  1818,  on  their  way 
to  the  North  Pole ;  here  also  the  French  naturalists,  who  had  been  sent  out  in 
the  corvette  La  Recherche  (1835-36)  to  exj^lore  the  high  northern  latitudes, 
sojourned  for  several  weeks. 

The  mimber  of  the  sea-birds  is  truly  astonishing.  On  the  ledges  of  a  high 
rock  at  the  head  of  the  bay  Beechey  saw  the  little  auks  [Arctica  alle)  extend 
in  an  uninterrupted  line  full  three  miles  in  length,  and  so  closely  congregated 
that  about  thirty  fell  at  a  single  shot.     He  estimated  their  numbers  at  about 


134 


THE   POLAR   AVOKLD. 


4,000,000.     When  they  took  flight  they  darkened  the  tiir  ;  and  at  the  distance 
of  four  miles  their  chorus  could  distinctly  be  heard. 

On  a  tine  summer's  day,  the  bellowing  of  the  walruses  and  the  hoarse  bark 


of  the  seals  are  mingled  with  the  shrill  notes  of  the  auks,  divers,  and  gulls. 
Although  all  these  tones  produce  a  by  no  means  harmonious  concert,  yet  they 
have  a  pleasing  effect,  as  denoting  the  happy  feelings  of  so  many  creatures. 


SPITZBERGEN— BEAR   ISLAND— JAN  ME  YEN.  135 

When  the  sun  verges  to  the  pole,  every  animal  becomes  mute,  and  a  silence 
broken  only  by  the  bursting  of  a  glacier  reigns  over  the  whole  bay — a  remark- 
able contrast  to  the  tropical  regions,  where  Nature  enjoys  her  repose  during 
the, noonday  heat,  and  it  is  only  after  sunset  that  life  awakens  in  the  forest 
and  the  field. 

Four  glaciers  reach  down  this  noble  inlet :  one,  called  the  Wagon  Way,  is 
7000  feet  across  at  its  terminal  cliff,  which  is  300  feet  high,  presenting  a  mag- 
nificent wall  of  ice.  But  the  whole  scene  is  constructed  on  so  colossal  a  scale 
that  it  is  only  on  a  near  approach  that  the  glaciers  of  Magdaleua  Bay  appear 
in  all  their  imposing  grandeur.  In  clear  weather  the  joint  effect  of  the  ice  un- 
der the  water,  and  the  reflection  of  the  glacier-wall  above,  causes  a  remarkable 
optical  delusion.  The  water  assumes  a  milk-white  color,  the  seals  appear  to 
gambol  in  a  thick  cream-like  liquid,  and  the  error  only  becomes  apparent  when, 
on  leaning  over  the  side  of  the  boat,  the  spectator  looks  down  into  the  trans- 
parent depth  below. 

It  is  extremely  dangerous  to  approach  these  cliffs  of  ice,  as  every  now  and 
then  large  blocks  detach  themselves  from  the'  mass,  and  frequently  even  a  con- 
cussion of  the  air  is  enough  to  make  them  fall. 

During  the  busy  period  of  Spitzbergen  history,  when  its  bay  used  to  be  fre- 
quented by  whalers  who  anchored  under  the  glacier-walls,  these  ice-avalanches 
often  had  disastrous  consequences.  Thus,  in  the  year  1619,  an  EngUsh  ship 
was  driven  by  a  sform  into  Bell  Sound.  While  it  was  passing  under  a  preci- 
pice ol  ice,  a  prodigious  mass  came  thundering  down  upon  it,  broke  the  masts, 
and  threw  the  ship  so  violently  upon  one  side  that  the  captain  and  part  of  the 
crew  were  swept  into  the  sea.  The  captain  escaped  unhurt,  but  two  sailors 
were  killed  and  several  others  wounded. 

One  day  a  gun  was  fired  from  a  boat  of  the  Trent  when  about  half  a  mile 
from  one  of  the  glaciers  of  Magdaleua  Bay.  Immediately  after  the  report  of 
the  musket,  a  noise  i-esembling  thunder  was  heard  in  the  direction  of  the  ice- 
stream,  and  in  a  few  seconds  more  an  enormous  mass  detached  itself  from  its 
front,  and  fell  into  the  sea.  The  men  in  the  boat,  supposing  themselves  to  be 
beyond  the  reach  of  its  influence,  were  tranquilly  contemplating  the  magnificent 
sight,  when  suddenly  a  large  wave  caine  sweeping  over  the  bay,  and  cast  their 
little  shallop  to  a  distance  of  ninety-six  feet  upon  the  beach. 

Another  time,  when  Franklin  and  Beechey  had  approached  one  of  these  ice- 
walls,  a  huge  fragment  suddenly  slid  from  its  side,  and  fell  with  a  crash  into 
the  sea.  At  first  the  detached  mass  entirely  disappeared  under  the  waters,  cast- 
ing up  clouds  of  spray,  but  soon  after  it  shot  up  again  at  least  100  feet  above 
the  surface,  and  then  kept  rocking  several  minutes  to  and  fro.  When  at  length 
the  tumult  subsided,  the  block  was  found  to  measure  no  less  than  1500  feet  in 
circumference ;  it  projected  60  feet  above  the  water,  and  its  Aveiglit  was  calcu- 
lated at  more  than  400,000  tons. 

Besides  the  glaciers  of  Magdaleua  Bay,  Spitzbergen  has  many  others  that 
protrude  their  crystal  walls  down  to  the  water's  edge  ;  and  yet  but  few  ice- 
bergs, and  the  largest  not  to  be  compared  with  the  productions  o:^Bafa»''s  Bay, 
are  drifted  from  the  shores  of  Spitzbergen  into  the  open  sea.     The  reason  is 


136  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

that  the  glaciers  usually  tevminate  where  the  sea  is  shallow,  so  that  no  very 
large  mass  if  dislodged  can  float  away,  and  they  are  at  the  same  time  so  fre- 
quently dismembered  by  heavy  swells  that  they  can  not  attain  any  great  size. 

The  interior  of  Spitzbei-gen  has  never  been  explored.  According  to  -the 
Swedish  naturaUsts,*  who  climbed  many  of  the. highest  mountains  in  various 
parts  of  the  coast,  all  the  central  regions  of  the  archipelago  form  a  level  ice- 
plateau,  interrupted  only  here  and  there  by  denuded  rocks,  projecting  hke  isl- 
ands from  the  crystal  sea  in  which  they  are  imbedded.  The  height  of  this  pla- 
teau above  the  level  of  the  ocean  is  in  general  from  1500  to  2000  feet,  and  from  its 
frozen  solitudes  descend  the  various  glaciers  above  described.  During  the  sum- 
mer months,  the  radiation  of  the  sun  at  Spitzbergen  is  always  very  intense,  the 
thermometer  in  some  sheltered  situations  not  seldom  rising  at  noon  to  62°,  67°, 
or  even  73°.  Even  at  midnight,  at  the  very  peak  of  the  high  mountain  ascend- 
ed by  Scoresby,  the  power  of  the  sun  produced  a  temperature  several  degrees 
above  the  freezing-point,  and  occasioned  the  discharge  of  streams  of  water  from 
the  snow-capped  summit.  Hence,  though  even  in  the  three  warmest  months  the 
temperature  of  Spitzbergen  does  not  average  more  that  34|°,  yet  in  the  more 
southern  aspects,  and  particularly  where  the  w\armth  of  the  sun  is  absorbed  and 
radiated  by  black  rock-walls,  the  mountains  are  not  seldom  bared  at  an  eleva- 
tion nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  snow-line  of  Norway,  and  various  Alpine  plants 
and  grasses  frequently  flourish,  not  only  in  sheltered  situatiojis  at  the  foot  of 
the  hills,  but  even  to  a  considerable  height,  wherever  the  disintegrated  rocks 
lodge  and  form  a  tolerably  good  soil. 

The  Flora  of  Spitzbergen  consists  of  about  ninety-three  species  of  flowering 
or  phenogamous  plants,  which  generally  grow  in  isolated  tufts  or  patches ;  but 
the  mosses  which  carpet'  the  moist  lowlands,  and  the  still  more  hardy  lichens, 
which  invest  the  rocks  Avith  their  thin  crusts  or  scurfs  as  far  as  the  last  limits 
of  vegetation,  are  much  more  numerous.  Some  of  the  plants 'of  Spitzbergeu 
are  also  found  on  the  Alps  beyond  the  snow-line,  at  elevations  of  from  9000  to 
10,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  According  to  Mr.  IVIartins,  nothing  can 
give  a  better  idea  of  Spitzbergen  than  the  vast  circus  of  i^'eve,  in  the  centre  of 
which  rises  the  triangular  rock  known  to  the  visitors  of  Chamouny  as  the  Jardin 
or  the  Courtil.  Let  the  tourist,  placed  "on  this  spot  at  a  time  when  the  sun 
rises  but  httle  above  the  horizon,  or  better  still,  when  wreaths  of  mist  hang 
over  the  neighboring  mountains,  fancy  the  sea  bathing  the  foot  of  the  amphi- 
theatre of  which  he  occupies  the  centre,  and  he  has  a  complete  Spitzbergen 
prospect  before  him.  Supposinghim  to  be  a  botanist,  the  sight  of  the  Ba7iuncu- 
lus  glacialis,  Gerastium  a^nnum,  Arenaria  hiflora,  and  Eo-^geron  unifloriis 
will  still  further  incrense  the  illusion. 

The  only  esculent  plant  of  Spitzbergen  is  the  Cochlearia  fenestrata,  which 
iiere  loses  its  acrid  principles,  and  can  be  eaten  as  a  salad.     The  grasses  which 

*  Within  the  last  few  years,  no  less  than  three  scientific  expeditions  have  been  sent  out  to  Spitz- 
bergen at  the  expense  of  the  Swedish  Government.  During  the  summer  of  1858,  Messrs.  Otto  Torell, 
Guennerstedt,  and  Nordenskjold  visited  the  western  parts  of  the  archipelago.  In  1801  the  whole  coast, 
from  Tee  Sound  to  Dove  Bay  in  North-east  Land  was  accurately  investigated  by  Messrs.  Torell,  Malm- 
gren,  Chy'denius,  etc.,  and  in  1801  :Messrs.  Nordenskjold,  Duner,  and  Malmt^ren  visited  the  southern 
shores  and  Wjde  Jan's  Water.     A  fourth  expedition  has  just  left  the  port  of  Gothenburg  (June,  18G«) 


SPITZBERGEN— BEAR  ISLAND— JAN  ]\IEYEN.  137 

Kcilh.iu  found  growing  near  some  Russian  huts  in  Stans  Foreland  are  during 
the  summer  a  precious  resource  for  the  reindeer,  which,  though  extremely  shy, 
make  their  appearance  from  time  to  time  in  every  part  of  the  land  from  the 
Seven  Islands  to  South  Cape,  and  are  more  abundant  than  could  have  been  ex- 
pected. The  Polar  bears  are  probably  their  only  native  enemies  on  these  isl- 
ands, and  their  fleetness  furnishes  them  with  ample  means  of  escape  from  a 
pursuer  so  clumsy  on  land.  Lord  Mulgrave's  crew  killed  fifty  deer  on  Vogel- 
sang, a  noted  hunting-place,  and  on  Sir  Edward  Parry's  polar  expedition  about 
seventy  deer  were  shot  in  Treurenberg  Bay  by  inexperienced  deer-stalkers,  and 
without  the  aid  of  dogs.  During  the  winter  these  large  herbivora  Uve  on  the 
Icelandic  moss  which  they  scent  under  the  snow,  but  it  may  well  be  asked  where 
they  find  shelter  in  a  naked  wilderness  without  a  single  tree.  In  May  and 
June  they  are  so  thin  as  scarcely  to  be  eatable,  but  in  July  they  begin  to  get 
fat,  and  then  their  flesh  would  everywhere  be  reckoned  a  delicacy. 

Besides  the  reindeer,  the  only  land-quadrupeds  of  Spitzbergen  are  the  Polar 
bear,  the  Arctic  fox,  and  a  small  field-mouse,  which  in  summer  has  a  mottled, 
and  in  winter  a  white  fur. 

Of  the  birds,  the  hyperborean  ptarmigan  {Lagopus  hyperhorecC)^  Avhich 
easily  procures  its  food  under  the  snow,  undoubtedly  winters  in  Spitzbergen, 
and  probably  also  the  lesser  red-pole,  which  perhaps  finds  grass  seeds  enough 
for  its  subsistence  during  the  long  polar  nights,  while  the  snow-bunting  {Plec- 
trophanes  nivalis),  and  the  tAventy  species  of  water-fowl  and  waders  that  fre- 
quent the  shoi'es  of  the  high  northern  archipelago  during  the  summer,  all  mi- 
grate southward  when  the  long  summer's  day  verges  to  its  end. 

Until  very  lately  the  Spitzbergen  waters  were  supposed  to  be  poor  in  fishes, 
though  the  numerous  finbacks,  which  towards  the  end  of  summer  frequent  the 
southern  and  south-western  coasts,  and,  unlike  the  large  smooth-back  whales, 
chiefly  live  on  herrings,  as  well  as  the  troops  of  salmon-loving  white  dolphin 
seen  about  the  estuaries  of  the  rivers,  snfticiently  proved  the  contrary,  not  to 
mention  the  herds  of  seals,  and  the  hosts  of  ichthyophagous  sea-birds  that  breed 
on  every  rocky  ledge  of  the  archipelago.  Phipps  and  Scoresby  mention  only 
three  or  four  species  of  fishes  occurring  in  the  seas  of  Spitzbergen,  while  the 
Swedish  naturalist  Malmgren,  the  first  who  seems  to  have  paid  real  attention  to 
this  interesting  branch  of  zoology,  collected  no  less  than  twenty-three  species  in 
1861  and  1864.  The  northern  shark  {Scymnus  microcejyhalns)  is  so  abundant 
that  of  late  its  fishery  has  proved  highly  remunerative.  The  first  ship  which 
was  fitted  out  for  this  purpose  in  1863  by  Hilbert  Pettersen,  of  Tromso,  returned 
from  Bell  and  Ice  Sounds  with  a  full  cargo  of  sharks'  fivers,  and  in  1865  the 
same  enterprising  merchant  sent  out  no  less  than  five  shark-ships  to  Spitzbergen. 
The  cod,  the  common  herring,  the  shell-fish,  the  hahbut  have  likewise  been 
caught  in  the  waters  of  the  archipelago,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  their  fishery,  which  has  hitherto  been  entirely  neglected,  might  be  pursued 
with  great  success. 

The  mineral  riches  of  Spitzbergen  are,  of  course,  but  little  known.  Coal  of 
an  excellent  quality,  which  might  easily  be  worked,  as  it  nearly  crops  out  on 
the  surface  at  a  short  distance  from  the  sea,  has,  however,  been  discovered 


138  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

lately  by  Mv.  Blorastrand  in  King's  Bay,  and  similar  strata  exist  in  varions  parts 
of  Bell  Sonnd  and  Ice  Sound.  Large  quantities  of  drift-wood,  probably  from 
the  large  Siberian  rivers,  are  deposited  by  the  currents,  particularly  on  the 
north  coasts  of  North-east  Land,  and  on  the  southern  coasts  of  Stans  Fore- 
land. In  English  Bay  Lord  Dufferin  saw  innumerable  logs  of  unhewn  tim- 
ber, mingled  Avith  which  lay  pieces  of  broken  spars,  an  oar,  a  boat's  flagstaff, 
and  a  few  shattered  fragments  of  some  long-lost  vessel's  planking. 

Most  probably  the  Norwegians  had  their  attention  directed  at  a  very  early 
period  to  the  existence  of  a  land  lying  to  the  north  of  Finmarken  by  the  troops 
of  niigratory  birds  which  they  saw  flying  northward  in  spring,  and  by  tiie 
casual  visits  of  sea-bears,  which  the  drift-ice  carried  to  the  south.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  they  were  the  first  discoverers  of  Spitzbergen,  but  their  his- 
tory contains  no  positive  records  of  the  fact,  and  it  Avas  not  before  the  sixteenth 
century  that  Europe  first  became  acquainted  with  that  desolate  archipelago. 
Sir  Hugh  Willoughby  may  possibly  have  seen  it  in  1559,  but  it  is  certain  that 
on  June  19, 1596,  Barentz,  Heemsk-erke,-and  Ryp,  who  had  sailed  in  two  ships 
from  Amsterdam  to  discover  the  north-eastern  passage  to  India,  landed  on  its 
western  coast,  and  gave  it  the  name  it  bears  to  the  present  day.  In  the  year 
1607  it  was  visited  by  the  unfortunate  Henry  Hudson,  and  four  years  later  the 
first  English  whalers  were  fitted  out  by  the  Russia  Company  in  London  to  fish 
in  the  bays  of  Spitzbergen,  or  East  Greenland,  as  it  w^as  at  that  time  called, 
being  supposed  to  be  the  eastern  prolongation  of  that  vast  island.  Here  our 
countrymen  met  with  Dutchinen,  Norwegians,  and  Biscayans  from  Bayonne 
and  the  ports  of  Northern  Spain,  and  commercial  rivalry  soon  led  to  the  usual 
quarrels.  In  the  year  1613  James  I.  granted  the  Russia  C/ompany  a  patent, 
giving  them  the  exclusive  right  to  fish  in  the  Spitzbergen  Avaters,  and  seven 
ships  of  war  were  sent  out  to  enforce  their  pretensions.  The  Dutch,  the  Nor- 
Avegians,  and  the  Biscayans  were  driven  away ;  a  cross  Avith  the  name  of  the 
King  of  England  w^as  erected  on  the  shore,  and  Spitzbergen  received  the  name 
of  "  King  James  his  Newland,"  This  triumph,  hoAvever,  Avas  but  of  short  du- 
I'ation,  and  after  a  struggle,  in  Avhich  none  of  the  combatants  gained  any  decis- 
ive advantage,  all  parties  came  at  last  to  an  amicable  agreement.  The  English 
received  for  their  share  the  best  stations  on  the  south-Avestern  coast,  along  Avith 
English  Bay  and  Magdalena  Bay.  The  Dutch  Avere  obliged  to  retreat  to  the, 
north,  and  chose  Amsterdam  Island,  Avith  Smeerenberg  Bay,  as  the  seat  of  their 
operations.  The  Danes  or  NorAvegians  established  their  head-quarters  on 
Dane's  Island ;  the  Plamburgers,  who  also  came  in  for  their  share,  in  Ham- 
burg Bay ;  and  the  French  or  Biscayans  on  the  north  coast,  in  Red  Bay.  At 
present  a  right  or  smooth-backed  whale  rarely  shoAvs  itself  in  the  Spitzbergen 
Avaters,  but  at  that  time  it  was  so  abundant  that  frequently  no  less  than  forty 
whalers  used  to  anchor  in  a  single  bay,  and  send  out  their  boats  to  kill  these 
cetaceans,  who  came  there  for  the  purpose  of  casting  their  young  in  the  shel- 
tered friths  and  channels.  The  fat  of  the  captured  Avhales  Avas  immediately 
boiled  in  large  kettles  on  the  shoi-e,  and  the  bays  of  Spitzbergen  presented  a 
most  animated  spectacle  during  the  summer  season. 

Numerous  cofiins — an  underground  burial  being  impossible   in  this  frost- 


SPITZBERGEN— BEAR  ISLAND— JAN  MEYEN. 


139 


BUltl  \.L   IN    UPITZBLIil.EN 


hardened  earth — still  bear  witness  to  those  busy  times,  and  also  to  tlie  great 
mortality  among  the  fishermen,  caused  doubtless  by  their  intemperate  habits. 
They  are  particularly  abundant  at  Smeerenberg,  where  Admiral  Beechey  saw 
upwards  of  one  thousand  of  them  ;  boards  with  English  inscriptions  were 
erected  over  a  few,  but  the  greater  number  were  Dutch,  and  had  been  deposited 
in  the  eighteenth  century.  Some  coffins  having  been  opened,  the  corpses  were 
found  in  a  state  of  perfect  preservation,  and  even  the  woollen  caps  and  stock- 
ings of  the  mariners,  who  might  perhaps  have  rested  for  more  than  a  century 
on  this  cold  earth,  were  still  apparently  as  new  as  if  they  had  been  but  recently 
put  on. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  the  English  and  the  Dutch  made  several  at- 
tempts to  establish  permanent  settlements  in  Spitzbergen.  The  Russia  Com- 
pany tried  to  engage  volunteers  by  the  promise  of  a  liberal  pay,  and  as  none 
came  forward,  a  free  pardon  was  offered  to  criminals  who  would  undertake  to 
winter  in  Bell  Sound.  A  few  wretches,  tired  of  confinement,  accepted  the  pro- 
posal, but  when  the  fleet  was  about  to  depart,  and  they  saw  the  gloomy  hills, 
and  felt  the  howling  north-eastern  gales,  their  hearts  failed  them,  and  they  en- 
treated the  captain  who  had  charge  of  them  to  take  them  back  to  London  and 
let  them  be  hanged.  Their  request  to  be  taken  back  was  complied  with,  but 
the  company  generously  interceded  for  them,  and  obtained  their  pardon. 

Some  time  after,  in  the  year  1630,  an.  English  whaler  landed  eight  men  m 
Bell  Sound  to  hunt  reindeer.  They  remained  on  shore  during  the  night,  but 
meanwhile  a  storm  had  arisen,  and  on  the  following  morning  their  ship  had 


140 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


vanished  out  of  sight.     It  was  towards  the  end  of  August,  and  they  had  no  hope 
of  rescue  at  this  advanced  period  of  the  year. 

Their  despair  may  be  imagined,  but  they  soon  recovered  their  courage,  and 
wisely  determmed  to  make  preparations  for  the  impending  winter,  instead  of 
losing  time  in  useless  lamentations.  Their  first  care  was  to  lay  in  a  stock  of 
food  and  in  a  short  time  they  had  killed  nineteen  reindeer  and  four  bears. 
Fortunately  they  found  in  Bell  Sovmd  the  necessary  materials  for  the  erection 
of  a  hut.  A  large  shed  fifty  feet  long  and  thirty-eight  broad  had  been  built 
as  a  workshop  for  the  men  of  the  Russia  Company,  and  they  very  judiciously 
constructed  their  small  hut  of  stones  and  thick  planks  within  this  inclosed 
space.  They  thus  gained  a  better  protection  against  the  icy  wind  and  room 
for  exercise  during  stormy  weather,  one  of  the  best  preservatives  against  the 
scurvy.  They  made  their  beds  and  winter  dresses  of  the  skins  of  the  animals 
they  had  killed,  sewing  them  together  with  needles  made  of  bone  splinters,  and 
using  disentangled  rope-ends  as- thread. 

Their  hut  was  ready  by  September  1 2,  and  to  preserve  their  supply  of  meat 
as  "long  as  possible,  they  lived  four  days  of  the  week  on  the  offal  of  whales'  fat 
which  lay  scattered,  about  in  great  plenty.  From  October  26  to  February  15 
they  saw  no  sun,  and  from  the  13th  to  the  31st  of  December  no  twilight.  The 
new  year  began  with  excessive  cold :  every  piece  of  metal  they  touched  stuck 
to  their  finders  like  glue,  and  their  skin  became  blistered  when  exposed  to  the 
air.  The  re-appearance  of  the  sun  was  as  a  resurrection  from  death.  To  in- 
crease their  joy,  they  saw  two  bears  on  the  ice,  one  of  Avhich  they  killed,  but 
they  found,  what  has  since  been  frequently  experienced  by  others,  that  the 


SPITZBERGEN— BEx^R  ISLAND— JAN  IHEYEN.  141 

liver  of  the  animal  has  poisonous  qualities,  ov  is  at  least  very  unwholesome,  for, 
after  eating  it,  they  were  all  attacked  with  a  kind  of  erujjtive  fever,  and  their 
skin  peeled  off.  Towards  the  middle  of  March  their  provisions  were  well-nigh 
exhausted,  but  the  Polar  bears  appearing  more  frequently,  replenished  their 
stock.  Soon  also  the  migratory  birds  arrived  from  the  south,  the  foxes  crept 
out  of  their  burrows,  and  many  were  caught  in  traps.  On  June  5  the  ice  be- 
gan to  break  up,  and  on  the  following  morning  one-half  of  the  bay  was  open. 
A  gale  forced  them  to  seek  the  shelter  of  their  hut.  There,  seated  round  the 
fire,  they  spoke  of  their  approaching  delivery,  when  suddenly  a  loud  halloo 
was  heard.  They  immediately  rushed  out  into  the  open  air,  and  hardly  be- 
lieved their  eyesight,  for  they  were  greeted  by  their  comrades  of  the  previ- 
ous summer,  and  saw  their  own  well-known  ship  at  anchor  in  the  bay.  Thus 
were  these  brave-hearted  men  rescued  after  a  ten  months'  exile  in  the  lati- 
tude of  11°. 

The  possibility  of  wintering  in  Spitzbergen  having  thus  been  proved,  some 
volunteers  belonging  to  the  Dutch  fleet  were  induced  by  certain  emoluments 
to  attempt  the  same  enterprise  on  Amsterdam  Island ;  but,  less  fortunate  than 
their  predecessors,  they  all  fell  victims  to  the  scurvy.  A  diary  which  they 
left  behind  recorded  the  touching  history  of  their  sufferings.  "Four  of  us," 
these  were  its  last  words,  "  are  still  alive,  stretched  out  flat  upon  the  floor,  and 
might  still  be  able  to  eat  if  one  of  us  had  but  the  strength  to  rise  and  fetch 
some  food  and  fuel,  but  we  are  all  so  weak,  and  every  movement  is  so  painful, 
that  we  are  incapable  of  stirring.  We  constantly  pray  to  God  soon  to  release 
us  from  our  sufferings,  and  truly  we  can  not  live  much  longer  without  food 
and  warmth.  None  of  us  is  able  to  help  the  others,  and  each  must  bear  his 
burden  as  well  as  he  can." 

Since  that  time  both  the  English  and  the  Dutch  have  given  up  the  idea  of 
forming  permanent  settlements  in  Spitzbergen,  but  scarcely  a  year  passes  that 
some  Russians  and  Norwegians  do  not  winter  in  that  high  northern  land.  As 
far  back  as  the  seventeenth  centuiy,  the  former  used  to  send  out  their  clumsy 
but  strongly-built  "lodjes  "  of  from  60  to  160  tons  from  the  ports  of  Archan- 
gel, Mesen,  Onega,  Kola,  and  other  places  bordering  the  White  Sea,  to  chase 
the  various  animals  of  S23itzbergen,  the  reindeer,  the  seal,  the  beluga,  but  chief- 
ly the  walrus,  the  most  valuable  of  all.  These  vessels  leave  home  in  July,  or 
as  soon  as  the  navigation  of  the  White  Sea  opens,  and  as  the  shortness  of  the 
season  hardly  allows  them  to  return  in  the  same  year,  they  pass  the  winter  in' 
some  sheltered  bay.  Their  first  care  on  landing  is  to  erect  a  large  cross  on  the 
shore,  a  ceremony  they  repeat  on  leaving,  and  such  is  their  religious  faith  that 
under  the  protection  of  that  holy  symbol  they  mock  all  the  terrors  of  the  Arc- 
tic winter.  Near  the  place  where  their  vessels  are  laid  up,  they  build  a  large 
hut  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  square,  which  is  used  as  a  station  and  mag- 
azine ;  but  the  huts  used  by  the  men  who  go  in  quest  of  skins,  and  which  are 
erected  at  distances  of  from  ten  to  fifty  versts  along  the  shore,  are  only  seven  or 
eight  feet  square.  The  smaller  huts  are  usually  occiipied  by  two  or  three  men, 
who  take  care  to  provide  themselves  from  the  store-house  with  the  necessary 
provisions  for  the  winter.     Scoresby  visited  several  of  these  huts,  some  con- 


142  THE   POLAR    WORLD. 

structed  of  logs,  others  of  deal  two  inches  in  thickness.  They  are  of  the  same 
kind  as  those  used  by  the  peasants  in  Russia,  and,  being  taken  out  in  pieces, 
are  erected  with  but  little  trouble  in  the  most  convenient  situation.  The  stoves 
are  built  with  bricks,  or  with  clay  found  in  the  country.  During  the  stay  of 
the  hunters,  they  employ  themselves  in  kilUng  seals  or  walruses  in  the  watei-, 
and  bears,  foxes,  deer,  or  whatever  else  they  meet  with  on  land.  Each  ship  is 
furnished  with  provisions  for  eighteen  months,  consisting  of  rye  flour  for  bread, 
oatmeal,  barley-meal,  peas,  salt  beef,  salt  cod,  and  salt  halibut,  together  with 
curdled  milk,  honey,  and  Unseed  oil ;  besides  which,  they  enjoy  the  flesh  of  the 
animals  which  they  kill.  Their  drink  consists  chiefly  of  quas,  a  national  bev- 
erage made  from  rye  flour  and  water ;  malt  or  spirituous  hquors  being  entirely 
forbidden,  to  prevent  drunkenness,  as,  when  they  were  allowed  it,  they  drank 
so  immoderately  that  their  work  was  often  altogether  neglected.  Their  fuel 
for  the  most  part  is  brought  with  them  from  Prussia,  and  drift-wood  is  used 
for  the  same  purpose. 

The  hunters,  seldom  travelling  far  in  winter,  make  their  short  excursions  on 
foot  on  snow-skates,  and  draw  their  food  after  them  on  hand-sledges.  Not  sel- 
dom they  are  overtaken  by  terrific  snowstorms,  which  force  them  to  throw 
themselves  flat  upon  the  ground,  and  sometimes  even  cost  them  their  lives. 
Their  best  preservation  against  the  scurvj^  is  bodily  exercise  ;  they  also  use  the 
Cochleariafenestrata,yi\\\G\\  grows  wild  in  the  country,  either  eating  it  without 
any  preparation,  or  drinking  the  liquor  prepared  from  it  by  infusion  in  water. 
Yet,  in  spite  of  all  their  precautions,  they  often  fall  a  prey  to  this  terrible 
scoiirge.  In  the  year  1771,  Mr.  Steward,  of  Whitby,  landed  in  King's  Bay  to 
gather  drift-wood,  and  found  a  Russian  hut.  After  having  vainly  called  for  ad- 
mittance, they  opened  it,  and  found  a:  corpse  stretched  out  on  the  ground,  its 
face  covered  with  green  mould.  Most  likely  the  unfortunate  man,  having  bur- 
ied all  his  comrades,  had,  as  the  last  survivor,  found  no  one  to  perform  the  same 
kind  ofiice  for  himself.  Generally  the  Russian  hunters,  after  spending  the  win- 
ter in  Spitzbergen,  return  home  in  the  following  August  or  September;  but 
their  stop  is  often  prolonged  during  several  years ;  and  Scharostin,  a  venerable 
Russian,  who  died  in  1826  in  Ice  Sound,  is  deservedly  remarkable  for  having 
spent  no  less  than  thirty-two  winters  of  his  long  life  in  that  high  northern  land, 
where  he  once  remained  during  fifteen  consecutive  years.  Surely  this  man 
ought  to  have  been  crowned  king  of  Spitzbergen— 

On  a  throne  of  rocks,  in  a  robe  of  clouds, 
With  a  diadem  of  snow  ! 

Every  year,  at  the  beginning  of  summer,  about  a  dozen  vessels  leave  the  ports 
of  Hammerfest  and  Tromso  for  Spitzbei'gen.  Formerly  it  was  a  very  common 
thing  for  them  to  procure  three  cargoes  of  walrus  and  seals  in  a  season,  and  less 
than^two  full  cargoes  was  considered  very  bad  luck  indeed ;  now,  however,  it  is 
a  rare  thing  to  get  more  than  one  cargo  in  a  season,  and  many  vessels  return 
home  after  four  months'  absence  only  half  full.  Yet,  in  spite  of  this  diminution, 
the  numbers  of  walruses  still  existing  in  that  country  are  very  considerable,  par- 
ticularlv  on  the  northern  banks  and  skerries,  which  are  only  accessible  in  open 


SPITZBERGEN— BEAR  ISLAND— JAN  MEYEN. 


143 


seasons,  or  perhaps  once  in  every  three  or  four  summers,  when  the  persecuted 
animals  get  a  little  time  to  breed  and  replenish  their  numbers. 


iil 


m 


m 


ill 


li 


About  midway  between  Hamraerfest  and  Spitzbergen  lies  Bear  Island,  orig- 
inally discovered  by  Barentz  on  June  9,  1596.     Seven  years  later,  Stephen  Ben- 


144  THE   POLAR    WORLD. 

net,  a  shipmaster  in  the  service  of  the  Muscovy  Company,  while  on  a  voyage  of 
discovery  in  a  north-easterly  direction,  likewise  saw  Bear  Island  on  August  16. 
Ignorant  of  its  previous  discovery  by  Barentz,  he  called  it  Cherie  Island,  after 
Sir  Francis  Cherie,  a  member  of  the  company,  and  to  this  day  both  names  are 
used. 

Bennct  found  some  walruses  on  its  desert  shores,  and  returned  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  with  a  vessel  fitted  out  by  a  merchant  of  the  name  of  Welden,  to  wage 
war  with  these  sea-monsters.  His  first  operations  were  not  very  successful. 
Of  a  herd  of  at  least  a  thousand  walruses,  he  killed  no  more  than  fifteen,  and  a 
later  attack  upon  an  equally  enormous  trooji  raised  the  entire  number  of  his 
victims  to  no  more  than  fifty.  Their  tusks  alone  w^ere  brought  away,  and  along 
with  some  loose  ones  collected  on  the  beach  formed  the  chief  produce  of  the  ex- 
pedition. At  first  the  unwieldy  creatures  were  fired  at,  but  as  the  bullets  made 
no  great  impression  on  their  thick  hides,  grapeshot  was  now  discharged  into 
their  eyes,  and  the  blinded  animals  were  finally  killed  with  axes. 

In  the  following  year  "VYelden  himself  proceeded  to  Bear  Island,  and  the  art 
of  walrus-killing  gradually  improving  by  practice,  this  second  expedition 
proved  far  more  profitable  than  the  first.  Care  had  also  been  taken  to  provide 
large  kettles  and  the  necessary  fuel  to  boil  their  fat  on  the  spot,  so  that  besides 
the  tusks  a  quantity  of  oil  was  gained.  In  1606  Bcnnet  again  appeared  on  the 
field  of  action,  and  the  dexterity  of  the  walrus-hunters  had  now  become  so  great 
that  in  less  than  six  hours  they  killed  more  than  VOO,  which  yielded  twenty-two 
tons  of  oil.  During  the  following  voyage,  Welden,  who  seems  to  have  acted  in 
partnership  with  Bennet,  each  taking  his  turn,  killed  no  less  than  1000  walruses 
in  seven  hours.  Thus  Bear  Island  proved  a  mine  of  wealth  to  these  enterpris- 
ing men,  and  though  the  walruses  are  not  now  so  abundant  as  in  the  good  old 
times,  yet  they  are  still  sufficiently  numerous  to  atti-act  the  attention  of  specula- 
tors. Every  year  several  expeditions  proceed  to  its  shores  from  the  Russian 
and  Norwegian  ports,  and  generally  some  men  pass  the  winter  in  huts  erected 
on  its  northern  and  south-eastern  coasts. 

Considering  its  high  northern  latitude  of  15°,  the  climate  of  Bear  Island  is  un- 
commonly mild.  According  to  the  reports  of  some  Norwegian  walrus-hunters, 
who  remained  there  from  1824  to  1826,  the  cold  was  so  moderate  during  the 
first  winter  that,  until  the  middle  of  November,  the  snow  which  fell  in  the  night 
melted  during  the  daytime.  It  rained  at  Christmas,  and  seventy  walruses  were 
killed  during  Christmas  week  by  the  light  of  the  moon  and  that  of  the  Aurora. 
Even  in  February  the  weather  was  so  mild  that  the  men  were  able  to  work  in 
the  open  air  under  the  same  latitude  as  Melville  Island,  where  mercury  is  a  solid 
body  during  five  months  of  the  year.  The  cold  did  not  become  intense  be- 
fore March,  and  attained  its  maximum  in  April,  when  the  sea  froze  fast  round 
the  island,  and  the  white  bears  appeared  which  had  been  absent  during  the 
whole  winter.  The  second  winter  was  more  severe  than  the  first,  but  even  then 
the  sea  remained  open  until  the  middle  of  November— evidently  in  consequence 
of  the  prevailing  south-westerly  winds.  The  greater  part  of  Bear  Island  is  a 
desolate  plateau  raised  about  100  or  200  feet  above  the  sea.  Along  its  western 
shores  rises  a  group  of  three  mountains,  supposed  to  be  about  200  feet  high, 


SPITZBERGEN— BEAR  ISLAND— JAN  :MEYEN.  145 

and  towards  the  south  it  terminates  in  a  solitary  Jiill  to  which  the  first  discov- 
erers gave  the  appropriate  name  of  Mount  Misery.  At  the  northern  foot  of 
this  terrace-shaped  elevation  the  plateau  is  considerably  depressed,  and  forms 
a  kind  of  oasis,  where  grass  {Poa  2yratensis),  enlivened  with  violet  cardamines 
and  white  polygonums  and  saxifragas,  grows  to  half  a  yard  in  height.  The 
general  character  of  the  small  island  is,  however,  a  monotony  of  stone  and  mo- 
rass, with  here  and  there  a  patch  of  snow,  while  the  coasts  have  been  worn  by 
the  action  of  the  waves  into  a  variety  of  fantastic  shapes,  bordered  in  some  parts 
by  a  flat  narrow  strand,  the  favorite  resort  of  the  walrus,  and  in  others  afEord- 
ing  convenient  breeding-places  to  hosts  of  sea-birds..  In  Coal  Bay,  four  parallel 
seams  of  coal,  about  equidistant  from  each  other,  are  visible  on  the  vertical  rock- 
walls,  but  they  are  too  thin  to  be  of  any  practical  use. 

Bear  Island  has  no  harbors,.and  is  consequently  a  rather  dangerous  place  to 
visit.  During  the  first  expedition  sent  out  from  Haramerfest,  it  happened  that 
some  of  the  men  who  had  been  landed  were  abandoned  by  their  ship,  Avhich  was 
to  have  cruised  along  the  coast  while  they  were  hunting  on  shore.  But  the 
current,  the  wind,  and  a  dense  fog  so  confused  the  ignorant  captain  that,  leaving 
them  to  their  fate,  he  at  once  returned  to  Hammerfest.  When  the  men  became 
aware  of  their  dreadful  situation,  they  determined  tQ  leave  the  island  in  their 
boat,  and  taking  with  them  a  quantity  of  young  Avali  as  flesh,  they  luckily  reach- 
ed Xorthkyn  after  a  voyage  of  eight  days.  It  seems  almost  incredible  that 
these  same  people  immediately  after  revisited  Bear  Island  in  the  same  ship,  and 


A   GLIMrSE   OF   JAN   METEN'S   ISLAND. 
10 


146  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

were  again  obliged  to  return  to  Xorway  in  the  same  boat.  The  ship  had  an- 
chored iu  the  open  bay  of  .North  Haven,  and  having  taken  in  its  cargo,  consist- 
ing of  180  wah-uses,  M'hich  had  all  been  killed  in  a  few  days,  was  about  to  leave, 
when  a  storm  arose,  which  cast  her  ashore  and  broke  her  to  pieces.  The  Rus- 
sians had  built  some  huts  in  the  neighborhood,  and  the  provisions  might  probably 
have  been  saved,  but  rather  than  winter  in  the  island  the  crew  resolved  to  ven- 
ture home  again  in  the  boat.  This  was  so  small  that  one-half  of  them  were 
obliged  to  lie  down  on  the  bottom  Avhile  the  others  rowed ;  the  autumn  was  al- 
ready far  advanced,  and  they  encountered  so  savage  a  storm  that  an  English 
ship  they  fell  in  with  at  the  North  Cape  vainly  endeavored  to  take  them  on 
board.  After  a  ten  days'  voyage,  however,  they  safely  arrived  at  Magero,  thiis 
proving  the  truth  of  the  old  saying  that  "  Fortune  favors  the  bold."  The  dis- 
tance from  Bear  Island  to  North  Cape  is  about  sixty  nautical  miles. 

In  a  straight  line  between  Spitzbergen  and  Iceland  lies  Jan  Meyen,  which, 
exposed  to  the  cold  Greenland  current,  almost  perpetually  veiled  with  mists,  and 
surrounded  by  drift  ice,  would  scarcely  ever  be  disturbed  in  its  dreary  solitude 
but  for  the  numerous  walrus  and  seal  herds  that  frequent  its  shores.  The  ice- 
bears  and  the  wild  sea-birds  are  its  only  inhabitants  ;  once  some  Dutchmen  at- 
tempted to  winter  there,  but  the  scurvy  swept  them  all  away.  Its  most  remark- 
able features  are  the  volcano  Esk  and  the  huge  mountain  Beerenberg,  towering 
to  the  height  of  6870  feet',  with  seven  enornlous  glaciers  sweeping  down  its 
sides  into  the  sea. 


NOVA  ZEMBLA.  147 


CHAPTER  XL 

NOVA    ZEMBLA. 

The  Sea  of  Kara. — Loschkin. — Eosuiysslow. — Liitke. — Krotow. — Paclitussow. — Sails  along  the  east- 
ern Coast  of  the  Southern  Island  to  Matoschkin  Schar. — His  second  Voj'age  and  Death. — Meteoro- 
logical Observations  of  Ziwolka. — The  cold  Summer  of  Nova  Zembla. — VonBaer's  scientific  Voj-age 
to  Nova  Zembla. — His  Adventures  in  Matoschkin  Schar. — Storm  in  Kostin  Schar. — Sea  Bath  and 
votive  Cross. — Botanical  Observations. — A  natural  Garden. — Solitude  and  Silence. — A  Bird  Ba- 
zar.— Hunthig  Expeditions  of  the  Russians  to  Nova  Zembla. 

^T^IIE  sea  of  Kava,  bounded  on  the  west  by  Nova  Zembla,  and  on  the  east  by 
-■-  the  vast  peninsula  of  Tajmurland,  is  one  of  tlie  most  inhospitable  parts  of 
the  inhospitable  Polar  Ocean.  For  all  the  ice  which  the  east-westerly  marine 
currents  drift  during  the  summer  along  the  Siberian  coasts  accumulates  in  that 
immense  land-locked  bay,  and  almost  constantly  blocks  the  gate  of  Kara,  as 
the  straits  have  been  named  that  separate  Nova  Zembla  from  the  island  of 
Waigatz. 

The  rivers  Jenissei  and  Obi,  which  remain  frozen  over  until  late  in  June, 
likewise  discharge  their  vast  masses  of  ice  into  the  gulf  of  Kara,  so  that  we 
can  not  wonder  that  the  eastern  coast  of  Nova  Zembla,  fronting  a  sea  which 
opposes  almost  insuperable  obstacles  to  the  Arctic  navigator,  has  remained  al- 
most totally  unknown  until  1833,  while  the  western  coast,  exposed  to  the  Gulf 
Stream,  and  bathed,  in  summer  at  least,  by  a  vast  open  ocean,  has  long  been 
traced  in  all  its  chief  outlines  on  the  map. 

The  walrus-hunter  Loschkin  is  indeed  said  to  have  sailed  along  the  whole 
eastern  coast  of  Nova  Zembla  in  the  last  century,  but  we  have  no  authentic 
records  of  his  voyage,  and  at  a  later  period  Rosmysslow,  who,  penetrating  ^ 
through  Mathew's  Straits,  or  Matoschkin  Schar,  found  Nova  Zembla  to  consist 
of  two  large  islands,  investigated  but  a  small  part  of  those  unknown  shores. 
From  1819  to  1824  the  Russian  Government  sent  out  no  less  than  five  expedi- 
tions to  the  sea  of  Kara ;  the  famous  circumnavigator  Admiral  Liitke  en- 
deavored no  less  than  four  times  to  advance  along  the  eastern  coast  of  Nova 
Zembla,  but  all  these  efforts  proved  fruitless  against  the  superior  power  of  a 
stormy  and  ice-blocked  sea.  Yet  in  spite  of  these  repeated  failures,  two  enter- 
prising men — Klokow,  a  chief  inspector  of  forests,  and  Brandt,  a  rich  merchant 
of  Archangel — fitted  out  three  ships  in  1832  for  the  purpose  of  solving  the 
mysteries  of  the  sea  of  Kara. 

One  of  these  vessels,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Krotow,  was  to  penetrate 
through  Mathew's  Straits,  and,  having  reached  their  eastern  outlet,  to  sail  thence 
across  the  sea  to  the  mouth  of  the  Obi  and  the  Jenissei ;  but  nothing  more 
Avas  heard  of  the  ill-fated  ship  after  her  first  separation  fpm  her  companions  at 
Kanin  Nos. 

The  second  ship,  which  was  to  sail  along  the  western  coast  of  Nova  Zem- 
bla, and,  if  possible,  to  round  its  northern  extremity,  was  more  fortunate,  for 


148  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

though  it  never  reached  that  point,  it  returned  home  witli  a  rich  cargo  of  wal- 
rus-teeth. 

The  third  ship,  finally,  under  Pachtussow's  command,  was  to  penetrate 
throuo-h  the  gate  of  Kara,  and  from  thence  to  proceed  along  the  eastern  coast. 
When  Pachtussow,  according  to  his  instructions,  had  reached  the  straits,  all 
his  efforts  to  effect  a  passage  proved  ineffectual.  It  was  in  vain  he  more  than 
once  steered  to  the  east ;  the  stormy  weather  and  large  masses  of  drift  ice  con- 
stantly threw  him  back,  the  short  summer  approached  its  end,  and  thus  he  was 
obliged  to  put  off  all  further  attempts  to  the  next  year,  and  to  settle  for  the 
winter  in  Rocky  Bay  within  the  gate  of  Kara.  A  small  hut  was  built  out  of 
the  drift-wood  found  on  the  spot,  and  joined  by  means  of  a  gallery  of  sail-cloth 
to  a  bathing-room,  that  indispensable  comfort  of  a  Russian.  The  laying  of 
traps,  in  which  many  Arctic  foxes  were  caught,  and  the  carrying  of  the  w^ood, 
which  had  sometimes  to  be  fetched  from  a  distance  of  ten  versts,  occupied  the 
crew  during  fair  weather.  In  April  a  party  under  Pachtussow\s  command 
set  out  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the  western  coast.  On  this  expedition 
they  were  overtaken  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  the  month  by  a  terrible  snow- 
storm, which  obliged  them  to  throw  themselves  flat  upon  the  ground  to  avoid 
being  swept  away  by  the  wind.  They  remained  three  days  without  food  under 
the  snow,  as  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  reach  the  depot  of  provisions  buried 
a  few  versts  off. 

On  June  24  the  gate  of  Kara  was  at  length  open,  and  Pachtussow  would 
gladly  have  sailed  through  the  passage,  but  his  ship  was  fast  in  the  ice.  He 
therefore  resolved,  in  order  to  make  the  best  use  of  his  time,  to  examine  the 
eastern  coast  in  a  boat,  and  reached  in  this  manner  the  small  Sawina  River, 
where  he  found  a  wooden  ci'oss  with  the  date  of  1V42.  Most  likely  it  had 
been  placed  there  by  Loschkin,  his  predecessor  on  the  path  of  discovery.  He 
now  returned  with  his  boat  to  the  ship,  which,  after  an  imprisonment  of  297 
days,  was  at  length,  July  11,  able  to  leave  the  bay. 

On  Stadolski  Island,  near  Cape  Menschikoff,  they  found  a  wretched  hut, 
which  proved  that  they  were,  not  the  first  to  penetrate  into  these  deserts.  But 
the  hut  Avas  tenantless,  and  a  number  of  human  bones  were  strewn  over  the 
ground.  One  of  Pachtussow's  companions  now  related  that  in  1822  a  Samo- 
jede,  named  Mawei,  had  gone  with  his  Avife  and  children  to  Nova  Zembla,  and 
had  never  returned.  On  gathering  the  bones,  they  were  found  to  compose  the 
skeletons  of  two  chUdreu  and  of  a  woman,  but  no  remains  could  be  discovered 
of  the  man.  Most  likely  the  unfortunate  savage  had  been  surprised  by  a  snow- 
storm, or  had  fallen  a  prey  to  a  hungry  ice-bear,  on  one  of  his  excursions,  and 
his  family,  deprived  of  their  support,  had  died  of  hunger  in  the  hut. 

On  July  19  they  reached  the  river  Stawinen,  and  on  the  21st  Liitke's  Bay, 
where  a  number  of  white  dolphins  and  seals  of  an  unknoAvn  species  were  found. 
Here  contrary  Avinds  arrested  the  progress  of  the  navigators  during  eighteen 
days.  On  August  IS^Pachtussow  entered  Matoschkin  Schar,  and  reached  its 
western  mouth  on  the  19th.  Thus  he  succeeded  at  least  in  circumnavigating 
the  southern  island,  Avhich  no  one  had  achieved  before  him,  and  as  his  exhaust- 
ed provisions  did  not  allow  him  to  spend  a  second  winter  in  Nova  Zembla,  he 


NOVA  ZEMBLA.  149 

resolved  to  return  at  once  to  Archangel.  But  contrary  winds  drove  him  to 
the  island  of  Kolgujew,  and  thence  to  the  mouth  of  the  Petschora,  where,  on 
September  3,  a  dreadful  storm  at  length  shattered  his  craay  vessel.  The  crew 
found  refuge  in  a  hut,  but  this  also  was  filled  by  the  Avator ;  so  that  they  had 
to  wade  several  versts  before  they  could  reach  the  dry  land. 

Pachtussow  now  travelled  by  way  of  Archangel  and  Onega  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, where  he  communicated  the  results  of  his  journey  to  the  Minister  of 
Marine,  who  gave  him  a  most  flattering  reception,  well  merited  by  his  ability 
and  courage.  The  success  he  had'already  obtained  encouraged  the  hope  that 
a  second  expedition  would  be  able  to  complete  the  undertaking,  and  consequent- 
ly, by  an  imperial  order,  the  schooner  Krotow  and  a  transport  were  fitted  out, 
with  which  Pachtussow  once  more  sailed  from  the  port  of  Archangel  on 
August  5.  His  instructions  were  to  winter  in  Mathew's  Straits,  and  thence  to 
atteftipt  in  the  following  summer  the  exploration  of  the  eastern  coast  of  the 
northern  island.  Tlie  winter  hut  he  built  at  the  western  entrance  of  the  straits 
was  ready  for  his  reception  by  October  20.  It  was  of  stately  dimensions,  for  a 
Nova  Zembla  residence — 25  feet  long^  21  broad,  8  feet  high  in  the  centre,  5  at 
the  sides,  and  consisted  of  two  compartments,  one  for  the  ofiicers  and  the  other 
for  the  crew.  They  found  the  cold  very  endurable,  but  were  rMher  incom- 
moded by  the  smoke,  which  did  not  always  find  a  ready  passage  through  the 
opening  in  the  roof.  Sometimes  the  snow  accumulated  in  such  masses,  or  the 
storm  raged  so  furiously  round  the  hut,  that  they  could  not  leave  it  for  eight 
days  running,  and  frequently  the  hole  in  the  roof  had  to  serve  them  for  a  door. 

Eleven  white  bears  were  killed  about  the  hut  during  the  winter;  one  on  the 
roof,  another  in  the  passage.  Pachtussow,  well  aware  that  occupation  is  the 
best  remedy  against  melancholy,  kept  his  crew  in  constant  activity.  They 
w^ere  obliged  to  fetch  wood  from  distances  of  ten  or  eleven  versts,  not  seldom 
during  a  cold  of  —36°,  which,  thanks  to  their  thick  fur  dresses,  they  bore  re- 
markably well,  particularly  as  a  temperature  lower  than  —25°  never  occurred, 
unless  during  perfectly  calm  weather.  He  also  made  them  lay  fox-traps  at 
considerable  distances  from  the  hut,  and  amused  them  with  shooting  at  a  mark 
and  gymnastic  exercises.  By  this  means  he  succeeded  in  preserving  their 
health,  and  warding  off  the  attacks  of  the  scurvy. 

As  early  as  Ajiril  the  indefatigable  Pachtussow  fitted  out  two  sledge-parties, 
for  the  exploration  of  the  eastern  coast.  The  one,  consisting  of  seven  men,  he 
commanded  in  person  ;  the  other  was  led  by  the  steersman  Ziwolka.  Both 
parties  travelled  in  company  as  far  as  the  eastern  entrance  of  the  straits,  where 
one  of  the  huts  in  which  Rosmysslow  had  wintered  seventy  years  before  was 
still  found  in  a  good  condition. 

Pachtussow  now  returned  for  the  purpose  of  accurately  surveying  the  straits, 
while  Ziwolka  proceeded  along  the  east  coast,  with  a  small  tent  and  provisions 
for  a  month.  All  his  men  had  Samojede  dresses,  but  they  wei-e  already  so 
hardened  that  they  did  not  wear  the  upper  coat  with  the  hood  even  during  the 
night,  although  snow-storms  not  seldom  occurred.  Once  their  boots  were 
frozen  so  hard  that  they  could  not  pull  them  off  before  they  had  been  previous- 
ly thawed,  and  as  drift-wood  was  nowhere  to  be  found,  they  were  obliged  to 


ISO  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

burn  the  poles  of  their  tent,  and  to  keep  their  feet  over  the  fire  until  the  leather 
became  soft.  On  May  18,  the  thirty-fourth  day  of  his  journey,  Ziwolka  re- 
turned to  his  commander,  after  having  explored  the  east  coast  northward  to  a 
distance  of  150  vcrsts. 

Meaiiwhile  Pachtussow  had  been  busy  building  a  boat  eighteen  feet  lonir, 
with  which  he  intended  to  i>roceed  along  the  western  coast  to  the  northern  ex- 
tremity of  the  island,  and,  the  elements  permitting,  to  return  to  the  straits 
along  its  eastern  shores.  About  the  beginning  of  June  the  migratory  birds 
made  their  appearance,  and  introduced  a  vei^  agreeable  change  in  the  monoton- 
ous fare  of  the  navigators,  who,  a  few  weeks  later,  enjoyed  the  sight  of  bloom- 
ing flowers,  and  gathered  antiscorbutic  herbs  in  large  quantities. 

Thus  the  high  northern  land  had  assumed  its  most  friendly  aspect,  and  looked 
as  cheerfully  as  it  possibty-  could,  when,  on  July  11,  Pachtussow  and  Ziwolka 
set  out  for  the  north  with  the  boat  and  the  transport,  the  schooner  being'-left 
behind  in  the  straits  with  the  surgeon  and  a  few  invalids.  At  first  the  Avind 
and  weather  favored  their  course,  but  on  July  21  the  boat  was  smashed  be- 
tween two  pieces  of  ice,  so  that  they  had  hardly  time  to  escape  upon  the  land 
with  the  nautical  instruments,  a  sack  of  flour,  and  some  butter. 

In  this  unpleasant  situation  they  were  obliged  to  remain  for  thirteen  days, 
until  at  last  a  walrus-hunter  appeared,  who  took  the  shij^wrecked  explorers 
on  board,  and  brought  them  safely  back  to  their  winter-quarters  on  August  22. 

Thus  this  first  attempt  ended  in  complete  disappointment,  and  the  season  was 
already  too  far  advanced  to  permit  of  its  renewal.  Yet  PachtussoAV,  resolving 
with  praiseworthy  zeal  to  make  the  most  of  the  last  days  of  the  short  summer, 
set  out  again  on  August  26  for  the  eastern  entrance  of  the  straits,  and  proceeded 
along  the  coast,  until  he  was  stopped  by  the  ice  at  some  distance  beyond  the 
small  islands  which  bear  his  name. 

Convinced  of  the  fruitlessness  of  all  further  efforts,  Pachtussow  bade  adieu 
with  a  sorrowful  heart  to  the  coast,  which  still  stretched  out  before  him  in  un- 
discovered mystery,  and  sailed  back  again  to  Archangel  on  September  20.  Soon 
after  his  return  he  fell  ill,  and  f oiir  weeks  later  his  mourning  friends  carried  him 
to  his  grave. 

The  Arctic  Ocean  is  so  capricious  that  in  the  following  year  the  walrus- 
hunter  Issakow,  of  Kem,  who  had  no  discoveries  in  view,  was  able  to  round 
without  difiiculty  the  north-eastern  extremity  of  Nova  Zembla,  but,  fearful  of 
encountering  the  dangers  of  that  dreadful  coast,  he  almost  immediately  returned. 

During  the  two  winters  he  spent  in  Nova  Zembla,  the  steersman  Ziwolka 
had  daily  consulted  the  thermometer,  and  the  result  of  his  observations  gave 
to  the  western  entrance  of  Mathew's  Straits  a  mean  annual  temperature 
of  -fir. 

Thus  Nova  Zembla  is  colder  than  the  west  coast  of  Spitzbergen,  which,  al- 
though still  farther  to  the  north,  is  more  favorably  situated  with  regard  to  the 
winds  and  currents,  and  from  five  to  ten  degrees  warmer  than  the  high  north- 
ern parts  of  Siberia  and  continental  America,  which  sustain  a  comparatively 
numerous  population,  while  Nova  Zembla  is  uninhabited.  Hence  this  want, 
and  the  circumstance  that  the  vegetation  of  these  islands  scarcely  rises  a  span 


NOVA  ZEMBLA.  151 

above  the  ground,  while  the  forest  region  still  penetrates  far  within  the  con- 
fines of  the  colder  continental  regions  above  mentioned,  are  to  be  ascribed  not 
to  the  low  mean  annual  temperature  of  Nova  Zembla,  but  to  the  unfavorable 
distribution  of  warmth  over  the  various  seasons  of  the  year.  For  although 
high  Northern  Siberia  and  America  have  a/ar  colder  winter,  they  enjoy  a  con- 
siderahly  loarmer  summer,  and  this  it  is  which  in  the  higher  latitudes  determines 
the  existence  or  the  development  of  life  on  the  dry  land.  During  the  winter 
the  organic  world  is  partly  sheltered  under  the  snow,  or  else  it  migrates,  or  it 
produces  within  itself  sufficient  warmth  to  defy  the  cold— and  thus  a  few  de- 
grees more  or  less  at  that  time  of  the  year  are  of  no  material  consequence,  Avhile 
the  warmth  of  summer  is  absolutely  indispensable  to  awaken  life  and  determine 
its  development. 

The  comparatively  mild  vyinter  of  Nova  Zembla  (no  less  than  thirty-three  de- 
grees warmer  than  that  of  Jakutsk)  is  therefore  of  but  little  benefit  to  vegetable 
iife,  which  on  the  other  hand  suffers  considerably  from  a  summer  inferior  even 
to  that  of  Melville  Island  and  Boothia  Felix.  A  coast  where  the  sun,  in  spite  of 
a  day  of  several  months'  continuance,  generates  so  small  a  quantity  of  heat,  and 
where  yet  some  vegetation  is  able  to  flourish,  must  necessarily  be  well  worthy 
the  attention  of  botanists,  or  rather  of  all  those  who  take  an  interest  in  the 
geographical  distribution  of  plants.  For  if  in  the  primitive  forests  of  Brazil 
the  naturalist  admires  the  effects  of  a  tropical  sun  and  an  excessive  humidity  in 
producing  the  utmost  exuberance  of  vegetation,  it  is  no  less  interesting  for  him 
to  observe  how  Flora  under  the  most  adverse  circumstances  still  wages  a  suc- 
cessful war  against  death  and  destruction. 

Thus  a  few  years  after  Pachtussow's  expedition,  the  desire  to  explore  a  land 
so  remarkable  in  a  botanical  point  of  view,  and  to  gather  new  fruits  for  science 
in  the  wilderness,  induced  Herr  von  Baer,  though  already  advanced  in  years,  to 
undertake  the  journey  to  Nova  Zembla. 

Accompanied  by  two  younger  naturalists,  Mr.  Lehmann  and  Mr.  Rodcr,  the 
celebrated  Petersburg  academician  arrived  on  July  29, 1837,  at  the  western  en- 
trance of  Mathew's  Straits,  sailed  through  them  the  next  day  in  a  boat,  and 
reached  the  sea  of  Kara,  where  he  admired  a  prodigious  number  of  jelly-fishes 
{Pleurohrachia pileus)  swimming  about  in  the  ice-cold  waters,  and  displaying 
a  marvellous  beauty  of  coloring  in  their  ciliated  ribs.  Tliis  excursion  might, 
however,  have  had  very  disagreeable  consequences,  for  a  dreadful  storm,  blow- 
ing from  the  west,  prevented  their  boat  from  returning,  and  forced  them  to  pass 
the  night  with  some  walrus-hunters,  whom  they  had  the  good-fortune  to  meet 
with.  On  the  following  day  the  storm  abated,  so  that  the  return  could  be  at- 
tempted ;  they  were,  however,  obliged  to  land  on  a  small  island  in  the  Beluga 
Bay,  where,  wet  to  the  skin,  and  their  limbs  shaking  with  cold,  they  fortunately 
found  a  refuge  in  the  ruins  of  a  hut  in  which  Rosmysslow  had  wintered  in  1 767. 
Meanwhile  the  wind  had  veered  to  the  east,  accompanied  by  a  very  disagreeable 
cold  rain,  which  on  the  mountains  took  the  form  of  snow ;  they  were  now,  how- 
ever, able  to  make  use  of  their  sail,  and  arrived  late  at  night  at  the  spot  where 
their  ship  lay  at  anchor,  completely  wet,  but  in  good  health  and  spirits. 

"  We  could  esteem  ourselves  happy,"  says  Von  Baer,  "  in  having  pnid  so 


152  THE  POLAE  WORLD. 

slight  a  penalty  for  neglecting  the  jDvecaution,  so  necessary  to  all  travellers  in 
Nova  Zembla,  of  providing  for  a  week  when  you  set  out  for  a  day's  excursion." 

On  August  4,  after  a  thorough  botanical  examination  of  the  straits,  the  party 
proceeded  along  the  west  coast.  The  wnnd,  blowing  from  the  north,  brouglit 
them  to  the  Kostin'^char,  a  maze  of  passages  between  numerous  islets,  where 
the  walrus-hunters  in  Nova  Zembla  chiefly  assemble. 

On  August  9  an  excursion  was  made  up  the  ri^er  Nechwatowa";  where  they 
rested  in  a  hut  which  had  been  erected  by  some  fisherman  employed  in  catching 
"  golzi,"  or  Arctic  salmon.  On  returning  to  the  ship,  a  dreadful  storm  arose  f rona 
the  north-east,  which  lasted  nine  days,  and,  very  fortunately  for  the  botanists, 
caught  them  in  the  Kostin  Schar,  and  not  on  the  high  sea.  Although  they  were 
anchored  in  a  sheltered  bay,  the  waves  frequently  swept  over  the  deck  of  their 
vessel,  and  compelled  them  to  remain  all  the  time  in  their  small,  low  cabin. 
Only  once  they  made  an  attempt  to  land,  but  the  wind  was  so  strong  that  they 
coidd  hardly  stand.  Their  situation  was  rendered  still  more  terrible  and  anxious, 
as  part  of  the  crew  which  had  been  sent  out  hunting  before  the  storm  began 
had  not  yet  returned. 

When  at  last  the  storm  ceased,  winter  seemed  about  to  begin  in  good  earn- 
est. Every  night  ice  formed,  in  the  river,  and  the  land  was  covered  with  snow, 
Avhich  had  surprised  the  scanty  vegetation  in  its  full  bloom.  At  length  the 
hunters  returned,  after  having  endured  terrible  hardshi^^s,  and  now  preparations 
were  made  for  a  definitive  departure.  A  general  bath  was  taken,  without  which 
no  anchorage  in  Nova  Zembla  is  ever  left,  and,  according  to  ancient  custom,  a 
votive  cross  was  likewise  erected  on  the  strand,  as  a  memorial  of  the  expedi- 
tion. 

On  August  28  the  anchors  were  weighed,  but  they  were  soon  dropped  again 
in  the  Schar,  to  examine  on  a  small  island  the  vegetable  and  animal  products  of 
the  land  and  of  the  shore.  The  former  offered  but  few  objects  of  interest,  but 
they  were  astonished  at  the  exuberance  of  marine  life.  After  having  been  de- 
tained by  a  thick  fog  in  this  place  for  several  days,  they  at  length  sailed  towards 
the  White  Sea,  where  they  were  obliged  by  contrary  winds  to  run  into  Tri  Os- 
trowa.  Dreary  and  desolate  as  the  tundras  at  this  extreme  point  of  Lapland 
had  appeared  to  them  on  their  journey  outward,  they  were  now  charmed  with 
their  green  slopes,  a  sight  of  which  they  had  been  deprived  in  Nova  Zembla. 

On  September  1 1  they  at  length  reached  the  port  of  Archangel,  with  the 
agreeable  prospect  of  passing  the  winter  in  a  comfortable  study  at  St.  Peters- 
burg instead  of  spending  it,  like  Barentz  and  his  associates,  as  might  easily  have 
happened,  in  a  wretched  hut  beyond  the  70th  degree  of  northern  latitude. 

Having  thus  briefly  sketched  Von  Baer's  adventures,  I  will  now  notice  some 
of  the  most  interesting  scientific  results  of  his  journey. 

The  rocky  Avest  coast  of  Nova  Zembla  has  about  the  same  appeai-ance  as  the 
analogous  part  of  Spitzbergen,  for  here  also  the  mountains,  particularly  in  the 
northern  island,  rise  abruptly  to  a  height  of  three  or  four  thousand  feet  from 
the  sea,  while  the  eastern  coast  is  generally  flat.  In  both  countries,  angular 
blocks  of  stone,  precipitated  from  the  summits,  cover  the  sides  of  the  hills,  and 
frequently  make  it  impossible  to  ascend  them.     In  fact,  no  rock,  however  hai'd 


NOVA  ZEMBLA.  153 

or  finely  grained,  is  able  to  withstand  the  effects  of  a  climate  where  the  sum- 
mer is  so  wet  and  the  winter  so  severe.  Nowhere  in  Nova  Zembla  is  a  grass- 
covered  spot  to  be  found  deserving  the  name  of  a  meadow.  Even  the  folia- 
ceous  lichens,  which  grow  so  luxuriantly  in  Lapland,  have  here  a  stunted  ap- 
pearance ;  but,  as  Von  Baer  remarks,  this  is  owing  less  to  the  cHmate  than  to 
the  nature  of  the  soil,  as  plants  of  this  description  thrive  best  on  chalky  ground. 
The  crustaceous  lichens,  however,  cover  the  blocks  of  augite  and  porphyry  with 
a  motley  vesture,  and  the  dingy  carpet  with  which  Dryas  octopetala  invests 
here  and  there  the  dry  slopes,  formed  of  rocky  detritus,  reminds  one  of  the 
tundras  of  Lapland. 

The  scanty  vegetable  covering  which  this  only  true  social  plant  of  Nova 
Zembla  affords  is,  however,  but  an  inch  thick,  and  can  easily  be  detached  like 
a  cap  from  the  rock  beneath. 

On  a  clayey  ground  in  moist  and  low  situations,  the  mosses  afford  a  pro- 
tection to  the  polar  willow  {/Salix  jyolaris),  which  raises  but  two  leaves  and  a 
catkin  over  the  surface  of  its  covering. 

Even  the  most  sparing  sheet  of  humus  has  great  difficulty  to  form  in  Nova 
Zembla,  as  in  a  great  number  of  the  plants  which  grow  there  the  discolored 
leaf  dries  on  the  stalk,  and  is  then  swept  away  by  the  winds,  so  that  the  land 
would  appear  still  more  naked  if  many  j^lants,  such  as  the  snow  xanunculus 
[Ranunculus  nivalis),  were  not  so  extremely  abstemious  as  to  require  no  hu- 
mus at  all,  but  merely  a  rocky  crevice  or  .some  loose  gravel  capable  of  retaining 
moisture  in  its  interstices. 

But  even  in  Nova  Zembla  there  are  some  more  favored  spots.  Thus  when 
Von  Baer  landed  at  the  foot  of  a  high  slate  mountain  fronting  the  south-west, 
and  reflecting  the  rays  of  the  sun,  he  was  astonished  and  delighted  to  see  a  gay 
mixture  of  purple  silenes,  golden  ranunculuses,  peach-colored  parryas,  white 
cerastias,  and  blue  palemones,  and  was  particularly  pleased  at  finding  the  well- 
known  forget-me-not  among  the  ornaments  of  this  Arctic  pasture.  Between 
these  various  flowers  the  soil  was  everywhere  visible,  for  the  dicotyledonous 
plants  of  the  high  latitudes  produce  no  more  foliage  than  is  necessary  to  set 
off  the  colors  of  th^  blossoms,  and  have  generally  more  flowers  than  leaves. 

The  entire  vegetation  of  the  island  is  confined  to  the  superficial  layer  of  the 
soil  and  to  the  lower  stratum  of  the  air.  Even  those  plants  which  in  warm 
climates  have  a  descending  or  vertical  root  have  here  a  horizontal  one,  and 
none,  whether  grasses  or  shrubs,  grow  higher  than  a  span  above  the  ground. 

In  the  polar  willow,  a  single  pair  of  leaves  sits  on  a  stem  about  as  thick  as 
a  straw,  although  the  whole  plant  forms  an  extensive  shrub  with  numerous  ram- 
ifications. Another  species  of  willow  {Salix  lanata)  attains  the  considerable 
height  of  a  span,  and  is  a  perfect  giant  among  the  Nova  Zembla  plants,  for  the 
thick  subterranean  trunk  sometimes  measures  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  can 
be  laid  bare  for  a  length  of  ten  or  twelve  feet  without  finding  the  end.  Thus 
in  this  country  the  forests  are  more  in  than  above  the  earth. 

This  horizontal  development  of  vegetation  is  caused  by  the  sun  principally 
heating  the  superficial  sheet  of  earth,  which  imparts  its  warmth  to  thfi  stratum 
of  air  immediately  above  it,  and  thus  confines  the  plants  within  the  narrow 


154  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

limits  which  best  suit  their  growth.  Hence  also  the  influence  of  position  on 
vegetation  is  so  great  that,  while  a  plain  open  to  the  winds  is  a  complete  des- 
ert, a  gentle  mountain  slope  not  seldom  resembles  a  garden. 

The  absence  of  all  trees  or  shrubs,  or  even  of  all  vigorous  herbage,  imparts 
a  character  of  the  deepest  solitude  to  the  Nova  Zembla  landscape,  and  inspires 
even  the  rough  sailor  with  a  kind  of  religious  awe.  "It  is,"  says  Von  Baer, 
"  as  if  the  dawn  of  creation  had  but  just  begun,  apd  life  w^ere  still  to  be  called 
into  existence."  The  universal  silence  is  but  rarely  broken  by  the  noise  of  an 
animal.  But  neither  the  cry  of  the  sea-mew,  wheeling  in  the  air,  nor  the  rus- 
tling of  the  lemming  in  the  stunted  herbage  are  able  to  animate  the  scene.  No 
voice  is  heard  in  calm  weather.  The  rare  land-birds  are  silent  as  well  as  the 
insects,  which  are  comparatively  still  fewer  in  number.  This  tranquillity  of 
nature,  particularly  during  serene  days,  reminds  the  spectator  of  the  quiet  of 
the  grave ;  and  the  lemmings  seem  like  phantoms  as  they  glide  noiselessly 
from  burrow  to  burrow.  In  our  fields  even  a  slight  motion  of  the  air  becomes 
visible  in  the  foliage  of  the  trees  or  in  the  waving  of  the  corn ;  here  the  low 
plants  are  so  stiff  and  immovable  that  one  might  suppose  them  to  be  painted. 
The  rare  sand-bee  {4ndrena),  which  on  sunny  days  and  in  warm  places  flies 
about  with  languid  wings,  has  scarcely  the  spirit  to  hum,  and  the  flies  and 
gnats,  though  more  frequent,  are  equally  feeble  and  inoffensive. 

As  a  proof  of  the  rarity  of  insects  in  Nova  Zembla,  Von  Baer  mentions  that 
not  a  single  larva  was  to  be  found  in  a  dead  walrus  which  had  been  lying  at 
least  fourteen  days  on  the  shore.  The  hackneyed  phrase  of  our  funeral  ser- 
mons can  not  therefore  be  applied  to  these  high  latitudes,  where  even  above 
the  earth  the  decay  of  bodies  is  extremely  slow. 

However  poor  the  vegetation  of  Nova  Zembla  may  be,  it  still  suffices  to 
nourish  a  number  of  lemmings,  which  live  on  leaves,  stems,  and  buds,  but  not 
on  roots.  The  slopes  of  the  moimtains  are  often  undermined  in  all  directions 
by  their  burrows.  Next  to  these  lemmings,  the  Arctic  foxes  are  the  most  nu- 
merous quadrupeds,  as  they  find  plenty  of  food  in  the  above-mentioned  little 
rodents,  as  well  as  in  the  young  birds,  and  in  the  bodies  of  the  marine  animals 
which  are  cast  aSliore  by  the  tides.  White  bears  are  scarcely  ever  seen  during 
the  summer,  and  the  reindeer  seems  to  have  decreased  in  numbers,  at  least  on 
the  west  coast,  where  they  are  frequently  shot  by  the  Russian  morse-hunters. 

The  hosts  of  sea-birds  in  some  parts  of  the  coast  prove  that  the  waters  are 
far  more  prolific  than  the  land.  The  foolish  guillemots  ( Uria  troile),  closely 
congregated  in  rows,  one  above  the  other,  on  the-  narrow  ledges  of  vertical 
rock-walls,  make  the  black  stone  appear  striped  with  white.  Such  a  breeding- 
place  is  called  by  the  Russians  a  bazar.  On  the  summit  of  isolated  cliffs,  and 
suffering  no  other  bird  in  his  vicinity,  nestles  the  large  gray  sea-mew  {Zarus 
f/laucus),  to  whom  the  Dutch  whale-catchers  have  given  the  name  of  "burgh- 
ermaster."  While  the  ice-bear  is  monarch  of  the  land  animals,  this  gull  appears 
as  the  sovereign  lord  of  all  the  sea-birds  around,  and  no  guillemot  would  ven- 
ture to  dispute  the  possession  of  a  dainty  morsel  claimed  by  the  imperious 
biirgherifi  aster. 

This  abundance  of  the  sea  has  also  attracted  man  to  the  desert  shores  of 


NOVA  ZEMBLA.  •  155 

Nova  Zerabla.  Long  before  Barentz  made  Western  Europe  acquainted  with 
the  existence  of  Nova  Zembla  (1594-96),  the  Land  was  known  to  the  Russians 
as  a  valuable  hunting  or  fishing  ground ;  for  the  Dutch  discoverer  met  with  a 
large  number  of  their  vessels  on  its  coast.  Burrough,  who  visited  the  port  of 
Kola  in  1556,  in  search  of  the  unfortunate  Willoughby,  and  thence  sailed  as 
far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Petschora,  likewise  saw  in  the  gulf  of  Kola  no  less  than 
thirty  lodjes,  all  destined  for  walrus-hunting  in  Nova  Zembla. 

Whether,  before  the  Russians*  the  adventurous  Norsemen  ever  visited  these 
desolate  islands,  is  unknown,  but  so  much  is  certain,  that  ever  since  the  times 
of  Barentz  the  expeditions  of  the  Muscovites  to  its  western  coast  have  been 
iminterruptedly  continued.  As  is  the  case  with  all  fishing  speculations,  their 
success  very  much  depends  upon  chance.  The  year  1834  was  very  lucrative, 
so  that  in  the  following  season  about  eighty  ships,  with  at  least  1000  n\en  on 
board,  sailed  for  Nova  Zembla  from  the  ports  of  the  White  Sea,  but  this  time 
the  results  were  so  unsatisfactory  that  in  1836  scarce  half  the  number  were 
fitted  out.  In  1837  no  more  than  twenty  vessels  were  employed,  and  Von 
Baer  relates  that  but  one  of  them  which  penetrated  into  the  sea  of  Kara  made 
a  considerable  profit,  while  all  the  rest,  with  but  few  exceptions,  did  not  pay 
one-half  of  their  expenses. 

The  most  valuable  animals  are  the  walrus  and  the  white  dolphin,  or  belnga. 
Ainong  the  seals,  the  Phoca  albigena  of  Pallas  distinguishes  itself  by  its  size, 
the  thickness  of  its  skin,  and  its  quantity  of  fat ;  Phoca  groenlancUca  and  Phoca 
hispida  rank  next  in  estimation.  The  Greenland  whale  never  extends  his  ex- 
cursions to  the  waters  of  Nova  Zembla,  but  the  fin-back  And  the  grampus  are 
frequently  seen. 

The  Alpine  salmon  {Salmo  aljnnus),  which  towards  autumn  ascends  into 
the  mountain-lakes,  is  caught  in  incredible  numbers  ;  and,  finally,  the  bean- 
goose  {Anser  segetum)  breeds  so  frequently,  at  least  upon  the  southern  island, 
that  the  gathering  of  its  quill-feathers  is  an  object  of  some  importance. 


156  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

THE  LAPPS. 

Their  ancient  History  and  Conversion  to  Christianity.— Self-denial  and  Poverty  of  the  Lapland  Clergy. 
—Their  singular  Mode  of  Preaching.— Gross  Superstition  of  the  Lapps.— The  Evil  Spirit  of  the 
Woods.— The  Lapland  Witches.— Physical  Constitution  of  the  Lapps.— Their  Dress.— The  Fj  ,lllap- 
pars.— Their  Dwellings.— Store-houses.— Reindeer  Pens.— Milking  the  Reindeer.— Migi-ation.- 
The  Lapland  Dog.— Skiders,  or  Skates.— The  Sledge,  or  Pulka.— Natural  Beauties  of  Lapland.— 
Attachment  of  the  Lapps  to  their  Country.— Bear-hunting.— Wolf-hunting.— Mode  of  Living  of  the 
wealthy  Lapps.— How  they  kill  the  Reindeer.- Visiting  the  Fair.— Mammon  Worship.— Treasure- 
hiding."-"  Tabak,  or  Braeude."— Afiectionate  Disposition  of  the  Lapps.— The  Skogslapp.— The 
Fislierlapp. 

THE  nation  of  the  Lapps  spreads  over  the  northern  parts  of  Scandhiavia 
and  Finland  from  about  the  63d  degree  of  latitude  to  the  confines  of 
the  Polar  Ocean  ;  but  their  number,  hardly  amounting  to  more  than  twenty 
thousand,  bears  no  proportion  to  the  extent  of  the  vast  regions  in  which  they 
are  found.  Although  now  subject  to  the  crowns  of  Russia,  Sweden,  and  Xor- 
Avay,  they  anciently  possessed  the  whole  Scandinavian  peninsula,  until  the  sons 
of  Odin  drove  them  farther  and  farther  to  the  north,  and,  taking  possession  of 
the  coasts  and  valleys,  left  them  nothing  but  the  bleak  mountain  and  the  deso- 
late tundra.  In  the  thirteenth  century,  under  the  reign  of  Magnus  Ladislas, 
King  of  Sweden,  their  subjugation  was  completed  by  the  Birkaiis,  a  race 
dwelling  oh  the  borders  of  the  Bothnian  Gulf.  These  Birkarls  had  to  pay  the 
crown  a  slight  tribute,  which  they  wrung  more  than  a  hundred-fold  from  the 
Lapps,  untif  at  length  Gustavus  I.  granted  the  persecuted  savages  the  protec- 
tion of  more  equitable  laws,  and  sent  missionaries  among  them  to  relieve  them 
at  the  same  time  from  the  yoke  of  their  ancient  superstitions.  In  1600  Charles 
IX.  ordered  churches  to  be  built  in  their  country,  and,  some  years  after,  his  son 
and  successor,  the  celebrated  Gustavus  Adolijhus,  founded  a  school  for  the 
Lapps  at  Pitea,  and  ordered  several  elementary  works  to  be  translated  into 
their  language.  In  the  year  1602,  Christian  IV.,  King  of  Denmark  and  Nor- 
way, while  on  a  visit  to  the  province  of  Finmark,  was  so  incensed  at  the  gross 
idolatry  of  the  Lapps  that  he  ordered  their  priests  or  sorcerers  to  be  persecuted 
with  bloody  severity.  A  worthy  clergyman,  Eric  Bredal,  of  Drontheim,  used 
means  more  consonant  Avith  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  and,  having  instructed 
several  young  Lapps,  sent  them  back  again  as  missionaries  to  their  famiJies. 
Those  interpreters  of  a  purer  faith  were,  however,  received  as  apostates  and 
traitors  by  their  suspicious  countrymen,  and  cruelly  murdered,  most  likely  at 
the  instigation  of  the  sorcerers.  In  1707  Frederic  IV.  founded  the  Finmark 
mission,  and  in  171G  Thomas  Westen,  a  man  of  rare  zeal  and  perseverance, 
j5reached  the  Gospel  in  the  Avildest  districts  of  the  province.  Other  mission- 
aries and  teachers  followed  his  example,  and  at  leiagth  succeeded  in  converting 
the  Lapi)s,  and  in  some  measure  conquering  their  ancient  barbarism.     Nothing 


THE    LAPPS.  157 

can  be  more  admirable  than  the  self-denial  and  heroic  fortitude  of  these  minis- 
ters of  Christ,  for  to  renounce  all  that  is  precious  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  to 
follow  nomads  little  better  than  savages  through  the  wilds  of  an  Arctic  couutry 
surely  requires  a  courage  not  inferior  to  that  of  the  soldier 

Who  seeks  preferment  at  the  cannon's  mouth. 

The  Lapland  schoolmaster  enjoys  an  annual  salary  of  twenty-five  dollars, 
and  receives  besides  half  a  dollar  for  every  child  instructed.  But  the  priest 
is  not  much  better  off,  as  his  stipend  amounts  to  no  more  than  thirty  dollars 
in  money,  and  to  about  150  dollars  in  produce.  Among  this  miserably  paid 
clergy  there  are,  as  in  Iceland,  men  worthy  of  a  better  lot.  The  famous  Lo- 
stadius  was  priest  at  Karesuando,  seventy-five  leagues  from  Tromso,  the  near- 
est town,  and  a  hundred  leagues  from  Tornea.  His  family  lived  upon  rye  bread 
and  fishes,  and  but  rarely  tasted  reindeer  flesh.  Chamisso  mentions  another 
Lapland  priest  who  had  spent  seven  years  in  his  parish,  which  lay  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  forest  region.  In  the  summer  he  was  completely  isolated,  as  then 
the  Lapps  wandered  with  their  herds  to  the  cool  shores  of  the  icy  sea ;  and  in 
the  winter,  when  the  moon  afforded  fight,  he  travelled  about  in  his  sledge,  fre- 
quently bivouacking  at  the  temperature  of  freezing  mercury,  to  visit  his  Lapps. 
During  ah  that'time  his  solitude  had  been  but  twice  broken  by  civilized  man  ; 
a  brother  had  come  to  see  him,  and  a  botanist  had  strayed  to  his  dweUing.  He 
weU  knew  how  to  appreciate  the  pleasure  of  such  meetings,  but  neither  this 
pleasure  nor  any  other,  he  said,  was  equal  to  that  of  seeing  the  sun  rise  again 
above  the  horizon  after  the  long  winter's  night. 

It  is  a  singular  custom  that  the  pastors  preaching  to  the  Lapps  deliver  their 
harangues  in  a  tone  of  voice  as  elevated  as  if  their  audience,  instead  of  being 
assembled  in  a  small  chapel,  were  stationed  upon  the  top  of  a  distant  mount- 
ain, and  labor  as  if  they  were  going  to  burst  a  bloodvessel.  Dr.  Clarke,  who 
listened  to  one  of  these  sermons,  which  lasted  one  hour  and  twenty  minutes, 
ventured  to  ask  the  reason  of  the  very  loud  tone  of  voice  used  in  preaching. 
The  minister  said  he  was  aware  that  it  must  appear  extraordinary  to  a 
stranger,  but  that,  if  he  were  to  address  the  Laplanders  in  a  lower  key,  they 
would  consider  him  as  a  feeble  and  impotent  missionary,  wholly  unfit  for  his 
ofiice,  and  would  never  come  to  church  ;  that  the  merit  and  abilities  of  the 
preacher,  like  that  of  many  a  popular  politician,  are  always  estimated  by  the 
strength  and  power  of  his  lungs. 

Though  the  Lapps  (thanks  to  the  efforts  of  their  spiritual  guides)  hardly 
even  remember  by  name  the  gods  of  their  fathers — Aija,  Akka,  Tuona— they 
still  pay  a  secret  homage  to  the  Saidas,  or  idols  of  wood  or  stone,  to  whom  they 
were  accustomed  to  sacrifice  the  bones  and  horns  of  the  reindeer.  They  aije  in 
fact  an  extremely  superstitious  racCj  faithfully  believing  in  ghosts,  witchcraft, 
and  above  all  in  Stallo,  or  TroUer,  the  evil  spirit  of  the  woods. 

Many  of  them,  when  about  to  go  hunting,  throw  a  stick  into  the  air,  and 
then  take  their  way  in  the  direction  to  which  it  points.  The  appearance  of 
the  Aurora  borealis  fills  them  with  terror,  as  they  believe  it  to  be  a  sign  of 
divine  wrath,  and   generally  shout   and  howl   during  the  whole  duration  of 


158  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

the  grand  phenomenon,  ^vhich  their  ignorance  connects  Avith  their  own  petty  ex- 
istence. 

The  pretended  gift  of  being  able  to  predict  future  events  is  common  among 
the  Laplanders.  The  sorcerers  fall  into  a  magic  sleep,  during  which  their  soul 
Avanders.  In  this  state,  like  the  somuambules  of  more  polished  nations,  they  re- 
veal things  to  come  or  see  what  passes  at  a  distance.  Men  and  women  affect 
the  power  of  fortune-telling  by  the  common  trick  of  palmistry,  or  by  the  inspec- 
tion of  a  cup  of  liquor ;  and  this,  to  insure  the  greatest  possible  certainty,  myist 
be  a  cup  of  brandy,  which  at  once  explains  the  whole  business  of  the  prophecy. 
The  Lapland  witches  pretended,  or  perhaps  still  pretend,  to  the  power  of  still- 
ing the  Avind  or  causing  the  rain  to  cease,  and  such  was  their  reputation  that 
English  seamen  trading  to  Archangel  made  it  a  point  to  laud  and  buy  a  wind 
from  these  poor  creatures. 

The  Lapps  are  a  dAvarfish  race.  On  an  average,  the  men  do  not  exceed  five 
feet  in  height,  many  not  even  reaching  four,  and  the  Avomen  are  considerably 
less.  Most  of  them  are,  hoAvever,  very  robust,  the  circumference  of  their  chest 
nearly  equalling  their  height.  Their  complexion  is  more  or  less  taAvny  and 
copper-colored,  their  hair  dark,  straight,  and  lank,  its  dangling  masses  adding 
much  to  the  Avildness  of  their  aspeqt.  They  have  very  little  beard,  and  as  its 
want  is  considered  a  beauty,  the  young  men  carefully  eradicate  the  scanty  sup- 
ply given  them  by  nature. 

Their  dark  piercing  eyes  are  generally  deep  sunk  in  their  heads,  Avidely  sep- 
arated from  each  other,  and,  like  those  of  the  Tartars  or  Chinese,  obliquely  slit 
toAvards  the  temples.  The  cheek-Tbones  are  high,  the  mouth  pinched  close,  but 
Avide,  the  nose  flat.  The  eyes  are  generally  sore,  either  in  consequence  of  the 
biting  smoke  of  their  huts  or  of  the  refraction  from  the  snow,  so  that  a  Lapp 
seldom  attains  a  high  age  Avithout  becoming  blind.  Their  countenances  gener- 
ally present  a  repulsive  combination  of  stolidity,  low  cunning,  and  obstinacy. 
Hogguer,  Avho  dwelt  several  months  among  them,  and  saw  during  this  time  at 
least  800  Lapps,  found  not  twenty  Avho  were  not  decidedly  ugly ;  and  Dr.  Clarke 
says  that  many  of  them,  Avhen  more  advanced  in  years,  might,  if  exhibited  in  a 
menagerie  of  Avild  beasts,  be  considered  as  the  long-lost  link  betAveen  liian  and 
ape. 

Their  legs  are  extremely  thick  and  clumsy,  but  their  hands  are  as  small  and 
finely  shaped  as  those  of  any  aristrocrat.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  from  gen- 
eration to  generation  they  never  perform  any  manual  labor,  and  the  very  trifling 
work  Avhich  they  do  is  necessarily  of  the  lightest  kind.  Their  limbs  are  singular- 
ly flexible,  easily  falling  into  any  posture,  like  all  the  Oriental  nations,  and  their 
hands  are  constantly  occupied  in  the  beginning  of  conversation  Avith  filling  a 
short  tobacco-pipe,  the  head  being  turned  over  one  shoulder  to  the  person  ad- 
dressed. Such  are  the  traits  by  Avhich  the  whole  tribe  is  distinguished  from 
the  other  inhabitants  of  Europe,  and  in  which  they  differ  from  the  other  natives 
of  the  land  in  Avhich  they  live. 

The  summer  garb  of  the  men  consists  of  the  "  poesk,"  a  sort  of  tunic,  gener- 
ally made  of  a  very  coarse  light-colored  Avoollen  cloth,  reaching  to  the  knees,  and 
fastened  round  the  Avaist  Avith  a  belt  or  girdle.     Their  AvOollen  caps  are  shaped 


THE    LAPPS.  159 

precisely  like  a  night-cap,  or  a  Turkish  fez,  with  a  red  tassel  nnd  red  worsted 
band  round  the  rim,  for  they  are  fond  of  lively  hues  strongly  contrasted. 
Their  boots  or  shoes  are  made  of  the  raw  skin  of  the  reindeer,  with  the  hair 
outward,  and  have  a  peaked  shape.  Though  these  shoes  are  very  thin,  and  the 
Lapp  wears  no  stockings,  yet  he  is  never  annoyed  by  the  cold  or  by  striking 
against  stones,  as  he  stuffs  them  with  the  broad  leaves  of  the  Garex  vesicaria, 
or  cyperus  grass,  which  he  cuts  in  summer  and  dries.  This  he  first  combs  and 
rubs  in  his  hands,  and  then  places  it  in  such  a  manner  that  it  covers  not  only 
his  feet  but  his  legs  also,  and,  being  thus  guarded,  he  is  quite  secure  against 
the  intense  cold.  With  this  grass,  which  is  an  admirable  non-conductor  of  heat, 
he  likewise  stuffs  his  gloves  in  order  to  preserve  his  hands.  But  as  it  wards 
off  the  cold  in  winter,  so  in  summer  it  keeps  the  feet  cool,  and  is  consequently 
used  at  all  seasons.  The  women's  apparel  differs  very  little  from  that  of  the 
other  sex,  but  their  girdles  are  more  ornamented  with  rings  and  chains.  In 
winter  both  sexes  are  so  packed  up  in  skins  as  to  look  more  like  bears  than 
human  beings,  and,  when  squatting  according  to  the  fashion  of  their  country, 
exhibit  a  mound  of  furs,  with  the  head  resting  upon  the  top  of  it. 

According  to  their  different  mode  of  life,  the  Lapps  may  be  aptly  subdivided 
into  Fjalllappars,  or  Mountain  Lapps ;  Skogslappars,  or  Wood  Lapps ;  and 
Fisherlapps. 

The  Fjalllappars,  who  form  the  greater  and  most  characteristic  part  of  the 
nation,  lead  an  exclusively  pastoral  life,  and  are  constantly  wandering  with  their 
herds  of  reindeer  from  place  to  place,  for  the  lichen  which  forms  the  chief  food 
of  these  animals  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year  is  soon  cropped  from  the 
niggard  soil,  and  requires  years  fpr  its  reproduction.  For  this  reason,  also,  this 
people  do  not  herd  together,  and  never  more  than  three  or  four  families  pitch 
their  huts,  or  tuguria,  upon  the  same  spot.  Of  course  the  dwelling  of  the  no- 
mad Lapp  harmonizes  Avith  his  vagrant  habits  ;  a  rude  tent,  which  can  easily 
be  taken  to  pieces,  and  as  easily  erected,  is  all  he  requires  to  shelter  his  family 
and  chattels.  It  consists  of  flexible  stems  of  trees,  placed  together  in  a  conical 
form,  like  a  stack  of  poles  for  hops,  and  covered  in  the  summer  Avith  a  coarse 
cloth,  in  winter  with  additional  skins,  to  be  better  fenced  against  the  inclemencies 
of  the  climate.  To  form  the  entrance,  a  part  of  the  hanging,  about  eighteen 
inches  wide  at  the  bottom,  and  terminating  upward  in  a  point,  is  made  to  turn 
back  as  upon  hinges.  The  hearth,  consisting  of  several  large  stones,  is  in  the 
centre,  and  in  the  roof  immediately  above  it  is  a  square  opening  for  the  escape 
of  smoke  and  the  admission  of  rain,  snow,  and  air.  All  the  light  Avhich  the  den 
receives  when  the  door  is  closed  comes  from  this  hole.  The  diameter  of  one 
of  these  conical  huts  generally  measures  at  its  base  no  more  than  six  feet ;  its 
whole  circumference,  of  course,  does  not  exceed  eighteen  feet,  and  its  extreme 
height  may  be  about  ten  feet.  The  floor  is  very  nearly  covered  with  reindeer 
skins,  on  which  the  inmates  squat  during  the  day  and  sleep  at  nights,  contract- 
ing their  hmbs  together  and  huddling  round  their  hearth,  so  that  each  individ- 
ual of  this  pigmy  race  occupies  scarcely  more  space  than  a  dog.  On  the  side  of 
the  tent  are  suspended  a  number  of  pots,  wooden  bowls,  and  other  household 
utensils ;  and  a  small  chest  contains  the  holiday  ai)parel  of  the  family.     Such 


160  THE   POLA-R   WORLD. 

are  the  dwellings  of  those  among  the  Laplanders  Avho  are  called  wealthy,  and 
who  sometimes  possess  very  considerable  property. 

Near  the  tent  is  the  dairy  or  store-house  of  the  establishment.  It  consists  of 
nothing  more  than  a  shelf  or  platform,  raised  between  two  trees,  so  as  to  be 
out  of  the  reach  of  the  dogs  or  wolves.  The  means  of  ascent  to  this  treasury 
of  curds,  cheese,  and  dried  reindeer  flesh,  is  simply  a  tree  stripped  of  its 
branches,  but  j)resenting  at  every  foot  or  so  knobs,  which  serve  the  same  pur- 
pose as  staves  on  a  ladder,  the  tree  being  obliquely  reared  against  the  platform. 

Another  characteristic  feature  of  a  Lapp  encampment  is  found  in  the  inclos- 
ures  in  which  the  reindeer  are  penned  during  the  night  or  for  the  purpose  of 
milking.  These  are  circus-like  open  places,  each  of  a  diameter  of  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  are  formed  by  stumps  of  trees  and  poles  set  upright 
on  the  ground,  and  linked  together  by  horizontal  poles.  Against  the  latter  are 
reared  birch  poles  and  branches  of  trees,  varying  from  six  to  ten  feet  in  height, 
without  the  slightest  attempt  at  neatness,  the  whole  being  as  rude  as  well  can 
be — a  sufficient  security  against  the  wolves  being  all  that  its  builders  desire. 
The  milkmg  of  a  herd  of  reindeer  presents  a  most  animated  scene.  Wh^n 
they  have  been  driven  within  the  inclosure,  and  all  outlets  are  secured,  a  Lapp, 
selecting  a  long  thong  or  cord,  takes  a  turn  of  both  ends  round  his  left  hand, 
and  then  gathers  what  sailors  call  the  bight  in  loose  folds,  held  in  his  right.  He 
now  singles  out  a  reindeer,  and  throws  the  bight  with  unerring  aim  over  the 
antlers  of  the  victim.  Sometimes  the  latter  makes  no  resistance,  but  in  general 
the  moment  it  feels  the  touch  of  the  thong  it  breaks  away  from  the  spot,  and 
is  only  secured  by  the  most  strenuous  exertions.  Every  minute  may  be  seen 
an  unusually  powerful  deer  furiously  dragging  a  Lapp  round  and  round  the  in- 
closure, and  sometimes  it  fairly  overcomes  the  restraint  of  the  thong,  and  leaves 
its  antagonist  prostrate  on  the  sod.  This  part  of  the  scene  is  highly  exciting, 
and  it  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  trained  skill  evinced  by  all  the  Lapps, 
women  as  well  as  men.  The  resistance  of  the  deer  being  overcome,  the  Lapp 
takes  a  dexterous  hitch  of  the  thong  round  his  muzzle  and  head,  and  then  fastens 
him  to  the  trunk  of  a  prostrate  tree,  many  of  which  have  been  brought  within 
the  level  inclosure  for  that  especial  purpose.  Men  and  women  are  indiscrimi- 
nately engaged  both  in  singling  out  milch  reins  and  in  milking  them.  Every 
one  is  fully  occupied,  for  even  the  little  children  are  practising  the  throwing  of 
the  lasso,  in  Avhich  they  evince  great  dexterity,  although  their  strength  is  insuf- 
ficient to  hold  the  smallest  doe. 

When  the  pasture  in  the  neighborhood  is  fully  exhausted,  which  generally 
takes  place  in  about  a  fortnight,  the  encampment  is  broken  up,  to  be  erected 
again  on  some  other  spot.  In  less  than  half  an  hour  the  tent  is  taken  to  pieces, 
and  packed  with  all  the  household  fm-niture  upon  the  backs  of  reindeer,  who  by 
long  training  acquire  the  capacity  of  serving  as  beasts  of  burden.  On  the 
journey  they  are  bound  together,  five  and  five,  with  thongs  of  leather,  and  led 
by  the  women  over  the  mountains,  while  the  father  of  the  family  precedes  the 
march  to  select  a  proper  place  for  the  new  encampment,  and  lys  sons  or  serv- 
ants follow  with  the  remainder  of  the  herd. 

Towards  the  end  of  spring  the  Lapps  descend  from  the  mountains  to  the 


THE   LAPPS.  161 

sea.  When  they  approach  its  borders,  the  reindeer,  sniffing  the  sea  air  from  a 
distance,  rush  tumultuously  to  the  fjord,  Avhere  they  take  long  draughts  of  the 
salted  water.  This,  as  the  Lapps  believe,  is  essential  to  their  health.  As  the 
summer  advances,  and  the  snow  melts,  they  ascend  higher  and  higher  into  the 
mountains.  At  the  approach  of  winter  they  retreat  into  the  woods,  where, 
with  the  assistance  of  their  dogs  and  servants,  they  have  enough  to  do  to  keep 
off  the  attacks  of  the  wolves.  The  reindeer  dog  is  about  the  size  of  a  Scotch 
terrier,  but  his  head  bears  a  wonderful  resemblance  to  that  of  the  lynx.  His 
color  varies  considerably,  but  the  hair  is  always  long  and  shaggy.  Invaluable 
as  are  his  services,  he  is  nevertheless  treated  with  great  cruelty. 

For  their  winter  journeys  the  Lapps  use  sledges  or  skates.  One  of  their 
skates,  or  "  skiders,"  is  usually  as  long  as  the  person  who  wears  it ;  the  other  is 
about  a  foot  shorter.  The  feet  stand  in  the  middle,  and  to  them  the  skates 
are  fastened  by  thongs  or  Avithes.  The  skiders  are  made  of  fir-wood,  and  cov- 
ered with  the  skins  of  young  reindeer,  which  obstruct  a  retrograde  movement 
by  acting  like  bristles  against  the  snow — the  roots  pointing  towards  the  fore 
part  of  the  skate,  and  thus  preventing  their  slipping  back.  With  these  skiders, 
the  Lapj)  flies  like  a  bird  over  the  snow,  now  scaling  the  mountains  by  a  tortu- 
ous ascent,  and  now  darting  down  into  the  valley : 

Ocior  cervis  et  agente  nimbos 
Ocior  Euro. 

Such  is  the  rapidity  of  his  course  that  he  will  overtake  the  swiftest  wild 
beasts  ;  and  so  violent  the  exercise  that,  during  the  most  rigorous  season  of  the 
year,  when  earnestly  engaged  in  the  chase,  he  will  divest  himself  of  his  furs. 
A  long  pole  with  a  round  ball  of  wood  near  the  end,  to  prevent  its  piercing  too 
deep  in  the  snow,  serves  to  stop  the  skater's  course  when  he  wishes  to  rest. 
The  Laplander  is  no  less  expert  in  the  use  of  the  sledge,  or  "  pulka,"  which  is 
made  in  the  form  of  a  small  boat  with  a  convex  bottom,  that  it  may  slide  all 
the  more  easily  over  the  snow ;  the  prow  is  sharp  and  pointed,  but  the  sledge  is 
flat  behind.  The  traveller  is  swathed  in  this  carriage  like  an  infant  in  a  cradle, 
with  a  stick  in  his  hand  to  steer  the  vessel,  and  disengage  it  from  the  stones  or 
stumps  of  trees  which  it  may  chance  to  encounter  in  the  route.  He  must  also 
balance  the  sledge  w^ith  his  body,  to  avoid  the  danger  of  being  overturned. 
The  traces  by  which  this  carriage  is  fastened  to  the  reindeer  are  fixed  to  a  col- 
lar about  the  animal's  neck,  and  run  down  over  the  breast  between  the  fore  and 
hind  legs,  to  be  connected  with  the  prow  of  the  sledge ;  the  reins  managed  by 
the  traveller  are  tied  to  the  horns,  and  the  trappings  are  furnished  with  little 
bells,  the  sound  of  which  the  animal  likes.  With  this  draught  at  his  tail,  the 
reindeer  will  tra  *^el  sixty  or  seventy  English  miles  in  a  day ;  often  persevering 
fifty  miles  without  intermission,  and  without  taking  any  refreshment,  except 
occasionally  moistening  his  mouth  with  the  snow.  His  Lapland  driver  knows 
how  to  find  his  way  through  the  wilderness  with  a  surprising  certainty ;  here  a 
rock,  there  a  fir-tree,  is  impressed  as  a  landmark  on  his  faithful  memory,  and 
thus,  like  the  best  pilot,  he  steers  his  sledge  to  the  distant  end  of  his  journey. 
Frequently  the  Aurora  lights  him  on  his  way,  illumining  the  snow-covered 

11 


163  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

landscape  with  a  magic  brilliancy,  and  investing  every  object  with  a  dream-like, 
supernatural  beauty. 

But  even  without  the  aid  of  this  mysterious  coruscation,  Lapland  is  rich  in 
grand  and  picturesque  features,  and  has  all  the  romance  of  the  mountain  and 
the  forest.  In  summer  countless  rivulets  meander  through  valleys  of  alpine 
verdure,  and  broad  pellucid  rivers  rush  down  the  slopes  in  thundering  cataracts, 
embracing  islands  clothed  with  pine-trees  of  incomparable  dignity  and  grace. 
Whoever  has  grown  up  in  scenes  like  these,  and  been  accustomed  from  infancy 
to  the  uncontrolled  freedom  of  the  nomad  state,  receives  impressions  never  to 
be  erased ;  and  thus  we  can  not  wonder  that' the  wild  Laplander  believes  his 
country  to  be  a  terrestrial  paradise,  and  feels  nowhere  happy  but  at  home. 

In  the  year  1819  a  Scotch  gentleman  attempted  to  acclimatize  the  reindeer 
in  Scotland,  and  induced  two  young  Laplanders  to  accompany  the  herd  Avhich 
lie  had  bought  for  that  purpose.  The  reindeer  soon  perished,  and  the  Lap- 
landers would  have  died  of  nostalgia  if  they  had  not  been  sent  home  by  the  first 
opportunity.  Prince  Jablonowsky,  a  Polish  nobleman,  Avdio  travelled  about 
thirty  years  since  through  a  part  of  Russian  Lapland,  took  a  Lapp  girl  with 
him  to  St.  Petersburg.  He  gave  her  a  superior  education,  and  she  was  Avell 
treated  in  every  respect.  She  made  rapid  progress,  and  seemed  to  be  perfectly 
reconciled  to  her  new  home.  About  two  years  after  her  arrival,  it  happened 
that  a  Russian  gentleman,  who  possessed  extensive  estates  near  the  capital, 
bought  a  small  herd  of  reindeer,  which  arrived  under  the  guidance  of  a  Lapp 
family.  As  it  was  winter-time,  and  these  people  had  brought  with  them  their 
tents,  their  sledges,  and  their  snow-shoes,  they  soon  became  objects  of  curiosity, 
and  crowds  of  fashionable  visitors  flocked  to  their  encampment ;  among  others, 
the  good-natured  prince,  who  imprudently  conducted  his  pupil,  the  young  Lap- 
land girl,  to  see  her  countrymen,  an  interview  which  he  supposed  would  give 
her  great  pleasure.  But  from  that  moment  she  became  an  altered  being;  she 
lost  her  spirits  and  her  appetite,  and,  in  spite  of  every  care  and  attention,  her 
health  dechned  from  day  to  day.  One  morning  she  disappeared,  and  it  was 
found  on  inquiry  that  she  had  returned  to  her  family,  where  she  remained  ever 
after. 

Another  very  remarkable  instance  of  the  Laplanders'  love  of  their  country 
is  related  by  Hogstrom.  During  the  war  of  Gustavus  III.  Avith  Russia,  a 
young  Laplander  enlisted  in  a  regiment  Avhich  Avas  passing  through  Tornea. 
He  served  in  several  campaigns  as  a  common  soldier,  was  made  a  sergeant  in 
consequence  of  his  good  conduct  and  courage ;  and  having  giA^en  himself  the 
greatest  trouble  to  improve  his  education  and  acquire  military  knowledge,  at 
length,  after  tAventy  years  of  service,  attained  the  rank  of  captain  in  the  SAvedish 
army.  After  this  long  time  spent  in  the  civilized  world,  and  having  become  ac- 
customed to  all  its  enjoyments  and  comforts,  he  felt  a  strong  desire  to  revisit 
his  family  and  his  country.  Scarcely  had  he  seen  his  native  mountains,  and 
spent  a  fcAV  days  among  his  countrymen  and  the  reindeer,  than  he  at  once  quit- 
ted the  service,  and  resumed  the  nomad  life  of  his  youth. 

The  Laplander's  chief  desire  is  for  peace  and  tranquillity.  Exposed  to  all 
the  privations  of  a  vagrant  life,  and  to  every  inclemency  of  Aveatlier,  he  endures 


THE   LAPPS.  163 

the  greatest  hardships  with  equanimity,  desiring  only  not  to  be  disturbed  in  the 
enjoyment  of  the  Httle  that  is  his — not  to  be  interfered  with  in  his  old  customs 
and  habits. 

Yet  this  same  peaceful  Laplander,  who  has  so  easily  submitted  to  a  foreign 
yoke,  is  one  of  the  boldest  hunters,  and  not  only  pursues  the  elk  or  the  wild 
reindeer,  but  engages  in  single  combat  with  the  bear.  Like  all  the  other  Arctic 
nations  of  Russia  and  Siberia,  he  has  strange  notions  about  this  animal,  which 
in  his  opinion  is  the  most  cunning  and  gifted  of  all  created  beings.  Thus  he 
supposes  that  the  bear  knows  and  hears  all  that  is  said  about  him,  and  for  this 
reason  he  takes  good  care  never  to  speak  of  him  disrespectfully.  It  may  seem 
strange  that  he  should  venture  to  slay  an  animal  which  ranks  so  high  in  his  es- 
teem ;  but  the  temptation  is  too  strong,  as  its  flesh  has  an  excellent  flavor,  and 
its  fur,  though  not  near  so  valuable  as  that  of  the  American  black  bear,  is  still 
worth  from  fifteen  to  twenty  dollars. 

At  the  beginning  of  winter,  the  bear,  as  is  well  known,  retires  either  into  a 
rocky  cave,  or  under  a  cover  of  branches,  leaves,  and  moss,  and  remains  thei-e 
without  food,  and  plunged  in  sleep  until  the  next  spring  recalls  hina  to  a  more 
active  existence.  After  the  first  fall  of  snow,  the  Lapp  hunters  go  into  the  for- 
est and  look  out  for  traces  of  the  bear.  Having  found  them,  they  carefully 
mark  the  spot,  and  returning  after  a  few  Aveeks  disturb  the  slumbering  brute, 
and  excite  him  to  an  attack.  It  is  not  considered  honorable  to  shoot  him 
while  sleeping ;  and  in  many  parts  of  Lapland  the-hunter  who  would  kill  a  bear 
with  any  other  weapon  but  a  lance  would  be  universally  despised.  Hogguer 
accompanied  two  Lapps,  well-armed  with  axes  and  stout  lances  with  barbed 
points,  on  one  of  these  bear-hunts.  "When  about  a  hundred  paces  from  the 
lair  the  company  halted,  while  one  of  the  Lapps  advanced  shouting,  telling  his 
comrades  to  make  as  much  noise  as  they  could.  When  about  twenty  paces 
from  the  cavern,  he  stood  still  and  flung  several  stones  into  it.  For  some  time 
all  was  quiet,  so  that  Hogguer  began  to  fear  that  the  lair  was  deserted,  M'hen 
suddenly  an  angry  growl  Avas  heard.  The  hunters  now  redoubled  their  clamor, 
until  slowly,  like  an  honest  citizen  disturbed  in  his  noonday  slumbers,  the  bear 
came  out  of  his  cavern.  But  this  tranquillity  did  not  last  long,  for  the  brute,  as 
soon  as  he  perceived  his  nearest  enemy,  uttered  a  short  roar  and  rushed  upon 
him.  The  Lapp  coolly  awaited  the  onset  with  his  lance  in  rest,  until  the  bear, 
coming  quite  near,  raised  himself  on  his  haunches  and  began  to  strike  at  him 
with  his  fore  paws.  The  hunter  bent  down  to  avoid  the  strokes,  and  then  sud- 
denly rising,  with  a  sure  eye  and  with  all  his  might,  plunged  his  lance  into  the 
heart  of  the  bear.  During  this  short  conflict  the  Lapp  had  received  a  slight 
wound  on  the  hand,  but  the  marks  of  the  bear's  teeth  were  found  deeply  im- 
pressed upon  the  iron  of  the  lance.  According  to  an  ancient  custom,  the  wives 
of  the  hunters  assemble  in  the  hut  of  one  of  them  ;  and  as  soon  as  they  hear  the 
i-eturning  sportsmen,  begin  chanting  or  howling  a  song  in  praise  of  the  bear. 
When  the  men,  laden  with  the  skin  and  flesh  of  the  animal,  approach,  they  are  re- 
ceived by  the  women  with  opprobrious  epithets,  and  forbidden  ingress  through 
the  door;  so  that  they  are  obliged  to  make  a  hole  in  the  wall,  through  wliich 
they  enter  with  their  spoils.     This  comedy,  which  is  meant  to  pacify  tlie  man<?s 


164  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

of  the  victim,  is  still  acted,  though  not  so  frequently  as  formerly  ;  but  the  cus- 
tom of  begging  the  bear's  pardon  with  many  tears  is  completely  out  of  date. 
The  animal's  interment,  howevei',  still  takes  place  with  all  the  ancient  honors 
and  ceremonies.  After  having  been  skinned,  and  its  flesh  cut  off,  the  body  is 
buried  in  anatomical  order — the  head  first,  then  the  neck,  the  fore  paw,  etc.  This 
is  done  from  a  belief  in  the  resurrection  of  the  bear,  who  having  been  decently 
buried,  will,  it  is  hoped,  allow  himself  to  be  killed  a  second  time  by  the  same 
Lapp ;  while  a  neglect  of  the  honors  due  to  him  would  exasperate  the  whole 
race  of  bears,  and  cause  them  to  wreak  a  bloody  vengeance  on  the  disrespectful 
hunter. 

The  wolf  is  treated  with  much  less  ceremony.  Many  a  wealthy  Lapp,  the 
owner  of  a  thousand  reindeer,  has  been  reduced  to  poverty  by  the  ravages  of  this 
savage  beast,  which  is  constantly  prowling  about  the  herds.  Hence  one  of  the 
first  questions  they  put  to  each  other  when  they  meet  is,  "  Lekor  rauhe  ?"  "  Is 
it  peace?" — which  means  nothing  more  than,  "  Have  the  wolves  molested  you  ?" 
Such  is  their  detestation  of  these  animals  that  they  believe  them  to  be  creatures 
of  the  devil,  contaminating  all  that  touches  them  while  alive.  Thus  they  will 
never  shoot  a  wolf,  as  the  gun  that  killed  him  would  ever  after  be  accursed. 

At  the  fii'st  alarm  that  wolves  have  appeared,  the  neighbors  assemble,  and 
the  chase  begins.  For  miles  they  pursue  him  over  hills  and  valleys  on  their 
"  skiders,"  and  kill  him  with  clubs,  Avhich  they  afterwards  burn.  They  will  not 
even  defile  themselves  with  skhming  him,  but  leave  his  hide  to  the  Finnish  or 
Russian  colonists,  who,  being  less  scrupulous  or  superstitious,  make  a  warm 
cloak  of  it,  or  sell  it  for  a  few  dollars  at  the  fair. 

Among  the  Fjaii  Lapps  there  are  many  rich  owners  of  1000  or  1500  rein- 
deer, 300  of  which  fully  suflice  for  the  maintenance  of  a  family.  In  this  case 
the  owner  is  able  to  kill  as  many  as  are  necessary  for  providing  his  household 
Avith  food  and  raiment,  while  the  sale  of  the  superfluous  skins  and  horns  enables 
him  to  purchase  cloth,  flour,  hardware,  and  other  necessary  articles — not  to  for- 
get the  tobacco  or  the  brandy  in  which  he  delights.  The  price  of  the  entire 
carcass  of  a  reindeer,  skin  and  all,  varies  from  one  to  three  dollars  Norsk  (four 
shillings  and  sixpence  to  thirteen  shillings  and  sixpence).  A  fine  skin  will  al- 
ways sell  for  one  dollar  in  any  part  of  the  North.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  a 
Lapp  possessing  a  herd  of  500  or  1000  deer  is  virtually  a  capitalist  in  every 
sense  of  the  word,  far  richer  than  the  vast  majority  of  his  Norwegian,  Swedish, 
or  Russian  fellow-subjects,  although  they  all  affect  to  look  upon  him  with  su- 
preme contempt. 

The  daily  food  of  the  mountain  Laplanders  consists  of  the  fattest  reindeer 
venison,  which  they  boil,  and  eat  with  the  broth  in  Avhich  it  has  been  cooked. 
Their  summer  diet  consists  of  cheese  and  reindeer-milk.  The  rich  also  eat 
bread  baked  upon  hot  iron  plates. 

Their  mode  of  killing  the  reindeer  is  the  method  used  by  the  butchers  in  the 
South  of  Italy — the  most  ancient  and  best  method  of  slaying  cattle,  because  it 
is  attended  with  the  least  pain  to  the  animal,  and  the  greatest  profit  to  its  pos- 
sessor. They  thrust  a  sharp-pointed  knife  into  the  back  part  of  the  head  be- 
tween the  horns,  so  as  to  divide  the  spinal  marrow  from  the  brain.     The  beast 


THE    LAPPS.  165 

instantly  drops,  and  dies  without  a  groan  or  struggle.  As  soon  as  it  falls,  and 
appears  to  be  dead,  the  Laplander  plunges  the  knife  dexterously  behind  the  off- 
shoulder  into  the  heart ;  then  opening  the  animal,  its  blood  is  found  in  the  stom- 
ach, and  ladled  out  into  a  pot.     Boiled  Avitli  fat  and  flour,  it  is  a  favorite  dish. 

An  important  epoch  in  the  life  of  the  Fjall  Lapp  is  his  annual  visit  to  one 
of  the  winter  fairs  held  in  the  chief  towns  or  villages  which  the  more  industri- 
.ous  Swedes,  Norwegians,  or  Fins  have  founded  on  the  coasts  here  and  there,  or 
in  the  well-watered  valleys  of  his  fatherland,  and  which  he  attends  frequently 
from  an  immense  distance.  After  a  slight  duty  to  Government  has  been  paid, 
business  begins  ;  but  as  every  bargain  is  ratified  with  a  full  glass  of  brandy,  his 
thoughts  get  confused  before  the  day  is  half  over — a  circumstance  which  the 
cunning  mei'chant  does  not  fail  to  turn  to  account.  On  awaking  the  next  morn- 
ing, the  vexation  of  the  nomad  at  his  bad  bargains  is  so  much  the  greater,  as  no 
people  are  more  avowed  mammon- worshippers  than  the  Lapps,  or  more  inclined 
to  sing,  with  our  Burns : — 

0  wae  on  the  siller,  it  is  sae  prevailin  '! 

Their  sole  object  seems  to  be  the  amassing  of  treasure  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
hoarding  it.  The  avarice  of  a  Lapp  is  gratified  in  collecting  a  number  of  silver 
vessels  or  pieces  of  silver  coin ;  and  being  \inable  to  carry  this  treasure  with 
him  on  his  journeys,  he  buries  the  whole,  not  even  making  his  wife  acquainted 
with  the  secret  of  its  deposit,  so  that  when  he  dies  the  members  of  his  ^family 
are  often  unable  to  discover  where  he  has  hidden  it.  Some  of  the  Lapps  pos- 
sess a  hundred-weight  of  silver,  and  those  who  own  1500  or  1000  reindeer  have 
much  more ;  in  short,  an  astonishing  quantity  of  specie  is  dispersed  among 
them.  Silver  plate,  when  offered  to  them  for  sale,  must  be  in  a  polished  state, 
or  they  will  not.  buy  it;  for  such  is  their  ignorance,  that  when  the  metal,  by 
being  kept  buried,  becomes  tarnished,  they  conceive  that. its  value  is  impaired, 
and  exchange  it  for  other  sUver,  which  being  repolished,  they  believe  to  be 
new.     The  merchants  derive  great  benefit  from  this  trafiic. 

Brandy  and  tobacco  are  the  chief  luxuries  of  tlie  Lapps.  The  tobacco-pipe 
is  never  laid  aside  except  during  meals ;  it  is  even  used  by  the  women,  who 
also  swallow  spirits  as  greedily  as  the  men  ;  in  fact,  both  sexes  will  almost  part 
with  life  itself  for  the  gratification  of  dram-drinking.  If  you  walk  up  to  a 
La^^p,  uncouthly  squatted  before  his  tent,  his  very  first  salutation  is  made  by 
stretching  forth  a  tawny  hand  and  demanding,  in  a  whining  tone,  "  Tabak  "  or 
"  Braendi."  Dr.  Clarke  relates  an  amusing  instance  of  their  propensity  for 
spirituous  liquors.  On  his  very  first  visit  to  one  of  their  tents,  he  gave  the  fa- 
ther of  the  family  about  a  pint  of  brandy,  thinking  he  would  husband  it  with 
great  care,  as  he  had  seen  him  place  it  behind  him  upon  his  bed  near  the  skii't- 
ing  of  the  tent.  The  daughter  now  entered,  and  begged  for  a  taste  of  the 
brandy,  as  she  had  lost  her  share  by  being  absent.  The  old  man  made  no  an- 
swer, but  when  the  request  was  repeated,  he  slyly  ci-ept  round  the  outside  of  the 
tent  until  he  came  to  the  spot  where  the  brandy  was,  when,  thrusting  his  arm 
beneath  the  skirting,  he  drew  it  out,  and  swallowed  the  whole  contents  of  the 
bottle  at  a  draught. 


166  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

The  practice  of  dram-drinking  is  so  general  that  mothers  pour  the  horrid 
dose  down  the  throats  of  their  infants.  Their  christenings  and  funerals  be- 
come mere  pretexts  for  indulging  in  brandy.  But  their  mild  and  pacific  dis- 
position shows  itself  in  their  drunkenness,  which  is  manifested  only  in  howling, 
jumping,  and  laughing,  and  in  a  craving  for  more  drams  with  hysteric  screams 
until  they  fall  senseless  on  the  ground— while  at  the  same  time  they  will  suffer 
kicks,  cuffs,  blows,  and  provocations  of  any  kind  without  the  smallest  irasci- 
bility. When  sober  they  are  as  gentle  as  lambs,  and  the  softness  of  their  lan- 
o-uage,  added  to  their  effeminate  shrill  tone  of  voice,  remarkably  corresponds 
with  their  placable  disposition.  An  amiable  trait  in  the  character  of  the  Lai)p 
is  the  warmth  of  his  affection  towards  his  wife,  his  children,  and  his  depend- 
ents. Nothing  can  exceed  the  cordiality  of  their  mutual  greetings  after  sep- 
arations, and  it  is  to  be  feared  that  but  few  married  men  in  England  could 
match  the  Lapp  husband  who  assured  Castren  that  during  thirty  years  of  wed- 
lock no  worse  word  had  passed  between  himself  and  his  wife  than  "  Loddad- 
sham,"  or  "  My  little  bird." 

In  spite  of  his  fatiguing  life,  and  the  insufficient  shelter  afforded  him  by  his 
hut,  the  Fjall  Lapp  is  generally  vigorous  and  healthy,  and  not  seldom  lives  to 
a  hundred  years  age.  Continual  exercise  in  the  open  air  braces  his  constitu- 
tion, his  warm  clothing  protects  him  against  the  cold  of  winter,  and  his  gen- 
erous meat  diet  maintains  his  strength.  To  prevent  the  scurvy,  he  eats  the 
berries  of  the  Emi^etrum  nigrum  or  Euhus  chamcemorus,  and  mixes  the  stems 
of  the  Angelica  among  his  food.  But  his  chief  remedy  against  this  and  every 
other  bodily  evil  is  warm  reindeer-blood,  which  he  drinks  with  delight  as  a 
universal  panacea. 

The  Skogs  Lapp,  or  Forest  Lapp,  occupies  an  intermediate  grade  between 
the  Fjall  Lapp  and  the  Fisher  Lapp,  as  fishing  is  his  summer,  occupation,  and 
hunting  and  the  tending  of  his  reindeer  that  of  the  winter  months.  His  herds 
not  being  so  numerous  as  those  of  the  Fjall  Lapp,  he  is  not  driven  to  constant 
migration  to  procure  them  food ;  but  they  require  more  care  than  his  divided 
pursuits  allow  him  to  bestow  upon  them,  and  hence  he  inevitably  descends  to 
the  condition  of  the  Fisher  Lapp.  Lastadius  describes  his  life  as  one  of  the 
happiest  on  earth— as  a  constant  change  between  the  agreeable  pastime  of  fish- 
ing and  the  noble  amusement  of  the  chase.  He  is  not,  like  the  Mountain  Lapp, 
exposed  to  all  the  severity  of  the  Arctic  winter,  nor  so  poor  as  the  Fisher 
Lapp.     He  is  often  heard  to  sing  under  the  green  canopy  of  the  firs. 

The  villages  of  the  Fisher  Lapps— as  they  are  found,  for  instance,  on  the 
banks  of  Lake  Enara— afford  a  by  no  means  pleasing  spectacle. 

About  the  miserable  huts,  which  are  shapeless  masses  oi  mingled  earth, 
stones,  and  branches  of  trees,  and  scarcely  equal  to  the  dwellings  of  the 
wretched  Fuegians,  heaps  of  stinking  fish  and  other  offal  taint  the  air  with 
their  pestilential  odors.  When  a  stranger  approaches,  the  inmates  come  pour- 
ing out  of  their  narrow  doorway  so  covered  with  dirt  and  vermin  as  to  make 
him  recoil  with  disgust.  Not  in  the  least  ashamed,  however,  of  their  appear- 
ance, they  approach  the  stranger  and  shake  his  hand  according  to  the  code  of 
Lapp  politeness.     After  this  preliminary,  he  may  expect  the  following  ques- 


THE  LAPPS.  167 

tions :  "  Is  peace  in  the  land  ?  How  is  the  emperor,  the  bishop,  and  the  cap- 
tain of  the  district  ?"  The  more  inquisitive  of  the  filthy  troop  then  ask  after 
the  home  of  the  stranger,  and  being  told  that  it  is  beyond  the  mountains,  they 
further  inquire  if  he  comes  from  the  land  where  tobacco  grows.  For  as  our 
imagination  loves  to  wander  to  the  sunny  regions, 

Where  the  citron  and  olive  are  fairest  of  fruit, 
And  the  voice  of  the  nightingale  never  is  mute ; 

so  the  fancy  of  the  Lapp  conceives  no  greater  paradise  than  that  which  pro- 
duces the  weed  that,  along  with  the  brandy-bottle,  affords  him  his  highest 
luxury. 


168  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

MATTHIAS  ALEXANDER   GASTRIN. 

His  Birthplace  and  first  Studies.— Journey  in  Lapland,  1838.— The  Iwalojoki.— The  Lake  of  Enara.— 
The  Pastor  of  Utzjoki. — From  Rowaniemi  to  Kemi. — Second  Voyage,  1841-44.— Storm  on  the 
White  Sea. — Return  to  Archangel. — The  Tundras  of  the  European  Samojedes. — Mesen.— Universal 
Drunkenness.— Sledge  Journey  to  Pustosersk. — A  Samojede  Teacher. — Tundra  Storms. — Abandon- 
ed and  alone  in  the  Wilderness.— Pustosersk.— Our  Traveller's  Persecutions  at  Ustsylmsk  and  Ish- 
emsk. — The  Uusa.— Crossing  the  Ural.— Obdorsk.— Second  Siberian  Journe}',  184.'J-48. — Overflow- 
ing of  the  Obi.— Surgut.— Krasnojarsk. — Agreeable  Surprise. — Turuchansk. — ^Voj-age  down  the 
Jetiissei.— Castren's  Study  at  Plachina.— From  Dudinka  to  Tolstoi  Noss.— Frozen  Feet.— Return 
Voyage  to  the  South. — Frozen  fast  on  the  Jenissei. — Wonderful  Preservation.— Journey  across  the 
Chinese  Frontiers,  and  to  Transbaikalia.— Return  to  Finland.- Professorship  at  Ilelsingfors.— Death 
of  Castren,  1855.  ^ 

MATTHIAS  ALEXANDER  CASTRl^N,  whose  interesting  journeys  form 
the  subject  of  the  j^resent  chapter,  was  born  in  the  year  1813,  at  Rowani- 
emi, a  Finland  village  situated  about  forty  miles  from  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of 
Bothnia,  immediately  under  the  Arctic  Circle ;  so  that,  of  all  men  who  have 
attained  celebrity,  probably  none  can  boast  of  a  more  northern  birthplace. 
While  still  a  scholar  at  the  Alexander's  College  of  Helsingfors,  he  resolved  to 
devote  his  life  to  the  study  of  the  nations  of  Finnish  origin  (Fins,  Laplanders, 
Samojedes,  Ostjaks,  etc.) ;  and  as  books  gave  but  an  insufficient  account  of 
them,  each  palsing  year  strengthened  his  desire  to  visit  these  tribes  in  their 
own  haunts,  and  to  learn  from  themselves  their  languages,  their  habits,  and 
their  liistory. 

We  may  imagine,  therefore,  the  joy  of  the  enthusiastic  student,  whom  pov- 
erty alone  had  hitherto  prevented  from  carrying  out  the  schemes  of  his  youth, 
when  Dr.  Ehrstrom,  a  friend  and  medical  fellow-student,  proposed  to  take  him 
as  a  companion,  free  of  expense,  on  a  tour  in  Lapland.  No  artist  that  ever 
crossed  the  Alps  on  his  way  to  sunny  Italy  could  feel  happier  than  Castren  at 
the  prospect  of  plunging  into  the  wildernesses  of  the  Arctic  zone. 

On  June  25,  1838,  the  friends  set  out,  and  arrived  on  the  30th  at  the  small 
town  of  Muonioniska,  where  they  remained  six  weeks — a  delay  which  Castren 
put  to  good  account  in  learning  the  Lapp  language  from  a  native  catechist. 
At  length  the  decreasing  sun  warned  the  travellers  that  it  was  high  time  to 
continue  their  journey,  if  they  wished  to  see  more  of  Lapland  before  the  winter 
set  in ;  and  after  having,  with  great  difficulty,  crossed  the  mountain  ridge 
which  forms  the  water-shed  between  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia  and  the  Polar  Sea, 
they  embarked  on  the  romantic  Iwalojoki,  where  for  three  days  and  nights  the 
rushing  waters  roared  around  them.  In  spite  of  these  dangerous  rapids,  they 
were  obliged  to  trust  themselves  to  the  stream,  which  every  now  and  then 
threatened  to  dash  their  frail  boat  to  pieces  against  the  rocks.  Armed  with 
long  oars,  they  were  continually  at  work  during  the  daytime  to  guard  against 


MATTHIAS  ALEXANDER   CASTRi^N.  169 

this  peril ;  the  nights  were  spent  near  a  large  fire  kindled  in  the  open  aii-,  -with- 
out any  shelter  against  the  rain  and  wind. 

The  Iwalo  River  is,  during  the  greater  part  of  its  course,  encased  between 
high  rocks ;  but  a  few  miles  before  it  discharges  itself  into  the  large  Lake  of 
Enara,  its  valley  improves  into  a  fine  grassy  plain.  Small  islands  covered  with 
trees  divide  the  waters,  which  now  flow  more  tranquilly ;  soon  also  traces  of 
culture  appear,  and  the  astonished  traveller  finds  in  the  village  of  Kyro,  not 
Avretched  Lapland  huts,  but  well-built  houses  of  Finnish  settlers,  with  green 
meadows  and  cornfields. 

The  beautiful  Lake  of  Enara,  sixty  miles  long  and  forty  miles  bi-oad,  is  so 
thickly  studded  with  islands  that  they  have  never  yet  been  counted.  After  the 
travellers  had  spent  a  few  days  among  the  Fisher  Lapps  who  sojourn  on  its 
borders,  they  proceeded  northward  to  Utzjoki,  the  limit  of  their  expedition,  and 
one  of  the  centres  of  Lapland  civilization,  as  it  boasts  of  a  church,  which  is 
served  by  a  man  of  high  character  and  of  no  little  ability.  On  accepting  his 
charge,  this  self-denying  priest  had  performed  the  journey  from  Tornea  in  the 
depth  of  winter,  accompanied  by  a  young  wife  and  a  female  relation  of  the  lat- 
ter, fifteen  years  of  age.  He  had  found  the  parsonage,  vacated  by  his  predeces- 
sor, a  wretched  building,  dislant  some  fifteen  miles  from  tlie  nearest  Lapp  habi- 
tation. After  establishing  himself  and  his  family  in  this  dreary  tenement,  he 
had  returned  from  a  pastoral  excursion  to  find  his  home  destroyed  by  a  fire,  from 
which  its  inmates  had  escaped  with  the  loss  of  all  that  they  possessed.  A  miser- 
able hut,  built  for  the  temporary  shelter  of  the  Lapps  who  resorted  thither  for 
divine  service,  afforded  the  family  a  refuge  for  the  winter.  He  had  since  con- 
trived to  build  himself  another  dweUiug,  in  which  our  party  found  him,  after 
five  years'  residence,  the  father  of  a  family,  and  the  chief  of  a  happy  household. 
Gladly  would  the  travellers  have  remained  some  time  longer  under  his  hospita- 
ble roof,  but  the  birds  of  passage  were  moving  to  the  south,  warning  them  to 
follow  their  example. 

Thus  they  set  out,  on  August  15,  for  their  homeward  voyage,  which  proved 
no  less  difficult  and  laborious  than  the  formei*.  At  length,  after  wandering 
through  deserts  and  swamps — frequently  wet  to  the  skin,  and  often  without 
food  for  many  hours — they  arrived  at  Rowaniejiii,  where  they  enibarked  on  the 
Kemi  River. 

"  With  conflicting  feelings,"  says  Castren, "  I  descended  its  stream ;  for  every 
cataract  was  not  only  well-known  to  me  from  the  days  of  my  earliest  childhood, 
but  the  cataracts  were  even  the  only  acquaintances  which  death  had  left  me  in 
the  place  of  my  birth.  Along  with  the  mournful  impressions  which  the  loss  of 
beloved  relations  made  upon  my  mind,  it  was  delightful  to  renew  my  inter- 
course with  the  rapid  stream  and  its  waterfalls — those  boisterous  playfel- 
lows, which  had  often  brought  me  into  peril  when  a  boy.  Now,  as  before,  it 
was  a  pleasant  sport  to  me  to  be  hurried  along  by  their  tumultuous  waters, 
and  to  be  wetted  by  their  spray.  The  boatmen  often  tried  to  persuade 
me  to  land  before  passing  the  most  dangerous  waterfalls,  and  declared  that 
they  could  not  be  answerable  for  my  safety.  But,  in  spite  of  all  their  remon- 
strances, I  remained  in  the  boat,  nor  had  I  reason  to  repent  of  my  boldness,  for 


170  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

He  who  is  the  steersman  of  all  boats  granted  us  a  safe  arrival  at  Kemi,  where 
our  Lapland  journey  terminated."* 

In  1841  Castren  published  a  metrical  translation,  into  the  Swedish  language^ 
of  the  "  Kalewala,"  a  cycle  of  the  oldest  poems  of  the  Fins  ;  and  at  the  end  of 
the  same  year  proceeded  on  his  first  great  journey  to  the  land  of  the  European 
Samoiedes,  and  from  thence  across  the  northern  Ural  Mountains  to  Siberia.  In 
the  famous  convent  of  Solovetskoi,  situated  on  a  small  island  in  the  White  Sea, 
he  hoped  to  find  a  friendly  teacher  of  the  Samoiede  language  in  the  Archiman- 
drite Wenjamin,  who  had  labored  as  a  missionary  among  that  savage  people, 
but  the  churlish  dignitary  jealously  refused  him  all  assistance;  and  as  the  tun- 
dras of  the  Samoiedes  are  only  accessible  during  the  Avinter,he  resolved  to  turn 
the  interval  to  account  by  a  journey  among  the  Terski  Lapps,  who  inhabit  the 
western  shores  of  the  White  Sea.  With  this  view,  in  an  evil  hour  of  the  27th 
June,  1842,  though  suffering  at  this  time  from  illness  severe  enough  to  have  de- 
tained any  less  persevering  traveller,  he  embarked  at  Archangel  in  a  large  corn- 
laden  vessel,  with  a  reasonable  prospect  of  being  lauded  at  Tri  Ostrowa  in  some 
twenty-four  hours ;  but  a  dead  calm  detained  him  eight  days,  during  wliich  he 
had  no  choice  but  to  endure  the  horrible  stench  of  Russian  sea-stores  in  the 
cabin  or  the  scorching  sun  on  deck.  At  length  a  favorable  wind  arose,  and 
after  a  few  hours'  sailing  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  water  and  sky.  Soon  the 
Terski  coast  came  in  view,  with  its  white  ice-capped  shore,  and  Castren  hoped 
soon  to  be  released  from  his  floating  prison,  when  suddenly  the  wind  changed, 
and,  increasing  to  a  storm,  threatened  to  dash  them  on  the  cliffs  of  the  Solovet- 
skoi Islands. 

"  Both  the  captain  and  the  ship's  company  began  to  despair  of  their  lives ; 
and  prayers  having  been  resorted  to  in  vain,  to  conjure  the  danger,  general 
drunkenness  was  the  next  resource.  The  captain,  finding  his  own  brandy  too 
weak  to  procure  the  stupefaction  he  desired,  left  me  no  peace  till  I  had  given 
him  a  iDottle  of  rum.  After  having  by  degrees  emptied  its  contents,  he  at  length 
obtained  his  end,  and  fell  asleep  in  the  cabin.  The  crew,  f olloAving  his  example, 
dropped  down  one  by  one  into  their  cribs,  and  the  ship  was  left  without  guidance 
to  the  mercy  of  the  winds  and  waves.  I  alone  remained  on  deck,  and  gloomily 
awaited  the  decisive  moment.  yBut  I  soon  discovered  that  the  wind  was  veer- 
ing to  the  east,  and,  awaking  the  captain  from  his  drunken  lethargy,  sent  him  on 
deck,  and  took  possession  of  his  bed.  Exhausted  by  the  dreadful  scenes  of  the 
day,  I  soon  fell  into  a  deep  slumber ;  and  when  I  awoke  the  following  morning, 
I  found  myself  again  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  White  Sea,  at  the  foot  of  a 
high  sheltering  rock-wall." 

Continued  bad  weather  and  increasing  illness  now  forced  Castren  to  give  u]) 
his  projected  visit  to  the  Lapps,  and  Avhen  he  returned  to  Archangel,  both  his 
health  and  his  purse  were  in  a  sad  condition.  He  had  but  fifteen  roubles  in  his 
pocket,  but  fortunately  found  some  Samoiede  beggars  still  poorer  than  himself, 
one  of  whom,  for  the  reward  of  an  occasional  glass  of  brandy,  consented  to  be- 
come at  once  his  host,  his  servant,  and  his  private  tutor  in  the  Samoiede  lan- 

*  Jieisen  in  Lapplaml,  etc. 


MATTHIAS  ALEXANDER  CASTREN.  171 

guage.  In  the  hut  and  society  of  this  savage  ho  passed  the  remainder  of  the 
summer,  his  health  improved,  and  soon  also  his  finances  clianged  wonderfully 
for  the  better — the  Government  of  Finland  having  granted  him  a  thousand  sil- 
ver roubles  for  the  prosecution  of  his  travels.  With  a  light  heart  he  continued 
his  linguistic  studies  until  the  end  of  November,  when  he  started  with  renewed 
enthusiasm  for  the  land  of  the  European  Samoiedes.  These  immense  tundras 
extend  from  the  White  Sea  to  the  Ural  Mountains,  and  are  bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  Polar  Sea,  and  on  the  south  by  the  region  of  forests,  which  here 
reaches  as  high  as  the  latitudes  of  66°  and  67°. 

The  large  river  Petschora  divides  these  dreary  wastes  into  two  unequal 
halves,  whose  scanty  population,  as  may  easily  be  imagined,  is  sunk  in  the  deep- 
est barbarism.  It  consists  of  nomadic  Samoiedes,  and  of  a  few  Russians,  who 
inhabit  some  miserable  settlements  along  the  great  stream  and  its  tributary 
rivers. 

To  bury  himself  for  a  whole  year  in  these  melancholy  deserts,  Castren  left 
Archangel  in  November,  1842.  As  far  as  Mesen,  345  versts  north  of  Archan- 
gel, the  scanty  population  is  Russ  and  Christian.  At  Mesen  civilization  ceases, 
and  farther  north  the  Samoiede  retains  for  the  most  part,  with  his  primitive 
habits  and  language,  his  heathen  faith — having,  in  fact,  borrowed  nothing  from 
occasional  intercourse  with  civilized  man  but  the  means  and  practice  of  drunk- 
enness. Castren's  first  cai-e,  on  his  arrival  at  Mesen,  was  to  look  for  a  Samoiede 
interpreter  and  teacher ;  but  he  was  as  unsuccessful  here  as  at  Somsha,  a  village 
some  forty  versts  farther  on,  where  drunkenness  was  the  order  of  the  day.  He 
took  the  most  temperate  person  he  could  find  in  all  Somsha  into  his  service, 
but  even  this  moderate  man  would,  according  to  our  ideas,  have  been  accounted 
a  perfect  drunkard.  He  now  resolved  to  try  the  fair  sex,  and  engaged  a  female 
teacher,  but  she  also  could  not  remain  sober.  At  length  a  man  was  introduced 
to  him  as  the  most  learned  person  of  the  tundra,  and  at  first  it  seemed  as  if  he 
had  at  length  found  what  he  wanted ;  but  after  a  few  hours  the  Samoiede  be- 
gan to  get  tired  of  his  numerous  questions,  and  declared  himself  ill.  He  threw 
himself  upon  the  floor,  wailed  and  lamented,  and  begged  Castren  to  have  pity 
on  him,  until  at  length  the  incensed  philologist  turned  him  out-of-doors.  Soon 
after  he  found  him  lying  dead  drunk  in  the  snow  before  the  "Elephant  and 
Castle  "  of  the  place. 

Thus  obliged  to  look  for  instruction  elsewhere,  Castren  resolved  to  travel,  in 
the  middle  of  winter,  to  the  Russian  village  of  Pustosersk,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Petschora,  where  the  fair  annually  attracts  a  number  of  Samoiedes.  During 
this  sledge-journey  of  700  versts,  he  had  to  I'est  sometimes  in  the  open  air  on  the 
storm-beaten  tundra,  and  sometimes  in  the  rickety  tent  of  the  Samoiede,  or  in 
the  scarcely  less  wretched  hut  of  the  Russian  colonist — where  the  snow  pene- 
trated through  the  crevices  of  the  wall,  whei*e  the  flame  of  the  light  flickered  in 
the  wind,  and  a  thick  cloak  of  wolf-skin  afforded  the  only  protection  against  the 
piercing  cold  of  the  Arctic  winter.  . 

For  this  arduous  tour,  two  sledges,  with  four  reindeer  attached  to  each,  were 
employed — the  traA^ellei''s  sledge,  which  was  covered,  being  attached  to  an  un- 
covered one  occupied  by  the  guide.     The  Kanin  Tundra  stretched  out  before 


173  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

them,  as  they  flew  along,  ahiiost  as  naked  as  the  sea,  of  wliich  they  saw  tlio 
margm  in  the  east ;  and  had  not  the  wmd  here  and  tliere  driven  away  the  snow 
which  Heaven  in  its  mercy  strews  over  this  gloomy  laud,  they  might  have  been 
in  doubt  on  which  element  they  were  travelling.  Daily,  from  time  to  time,  some 
dwarf  firs  made  their  apjDearance,  or  clumps  of  low  willows,  which  generally  de- 
note the  presence  of  some  little  brook  slowly  winding  through  the  flat  tundra. 
The  village  of  Ness,  on  the  north  coast,  was  the  first  halting-place,  and  here 
Castren  flattered  himself  he  had  at  length  found  what  his  heart  desired,  in  the 
person  of  a  Samoiede  teacher  who  knew  Russian,  and  was  gifted  with  a  clear- 
er head  than  is  usually  possessed  by  his  race. 

"  The  man  was  conscious  of  his  superiority,  and  while  acting  as  a  professor 
looked  down  with  contempt  upon  his  weaker  l^rethren.  Once,  some  other  Samo- 
i'edes  venturing  to  correct  one  of  his  translations,  he  commanded  them  to  be  si- 
lent, telUng  them  they  were  not  learned.  I  tried  by  all  possible  means  to  se- 
cure the  services  of  this  Samoiede  phenomenon.  I  spoke  kindly  with  him,  I 
paid  him  well,  gave  him  every  day  his  allowance  of  brandy,  and  never  once  for- 
bade him  to  get  drunk  when  he  felt  incHned  to  do  so.  Yet,  in  spite  of  all  my 
,  endeavors  to  please,  he  felt  unhappy,  and  sighed  for  the  liberty  of  the  tundra. 
'  Thou  art  kind,  and  I  love  thee,'  said  he  one  day  to  me, '  but  I  can  jiot  endure 
confinement.     Be  therefore  merciful,  and  give  me  my  freedom.' 

"  I  now  increased  his  daily  pay  and  his  rations  of  brandy,  sent  for  his  wifi' 
and  child,  treated  his  wife  also  with  brandy,  and  did  all  I  could  to  dispel  the 
melancholy  of  the  Samoiede.  By  these  means  I  induced  him  to  remain  a  iew 
days  longer  with  me. 

"  While  I  was  constantly  occupying  him,  the  Avife  was  busy  sewing  Samoiede 
dresses,  and  sometimes  assisted  her  husband  in  his  translations.  I  often  lieard 
her  sighing  deeply,  and  having  asked  for  the  reason,  she  burst  into  tears,  and 
answered  that  she  grieved  for  her  husband,  who  was  thus  imprisoned  in  a  room. 
'  Thy  husband,'  was  my  reply,  '  is  not  worse  of£  than  thyself.  Tell  me,  what 
do  you  think  of  your  own  position  ?'  '  I  do  not  think  of  myself— I  am  sorrow- 
ful for  my  husband,'  was  her  ingenuous  reply.  At  length  both  the  husband 
and  the  wife  begged  me  so  earnestly  to  set  them  at  liberty  that  I  allowed  them 
to  depart." 

On  the  way  from  Pjoscha  to  Pustosersk,  after  Castren  had  once  more  vainly 
endeavored  to  discover  that  rara  avis,  a  Samoiede  teacher,  he  l)ecame  thorough- 
ly acquainted  with  the  January  snow-storms  of  the  tundra :  "  The  wind  arose 
about  noon,  and  blew  so  violently  that  we  could  not  see  tlie  reindeer  before  our 
sledges.  The  roof  of  my  vehicle,  which  at  first  had  affordecl  me  some  protec- 
tion, was  soon  carried  away  by  the  gale.  Anxious  about  my  fate,  I  questioned 
my  guides,  whenever  they  stopped  to  brush  off  the  snow  which  had  accumulated 
upon  me,  and  received  the  invariable  answer, '  We  do  not  know  where  we  are, 
and  see  nothing.'  We  proceeded  step  by  step,  now  following  one  direction, 
now  another,  until  at  length  we  reached  a  river  well  known  to  the  guides.  The 
leader  of  the  first  sledge  hurried  his  reindeer  down  the  precipitous  bank,  and 
drove  away  upon  the  ice  to  seek  a  more  convenient  descent ;  but  as  he  did  not 
return,  the  other  guide  likewise  left  me  to  look  after  his  companion,  and  thus  I 


MATTHIAS  ALEXANDER   CASTRl^N.  173 

was  kept  waiting  for  several  hours  on  the  tundra,  without  knowing  where  my 
guides  had  gone  to. 

"  At  first  I  did  not  even  know  that  they  had  left  me,  and  when  I  became 
aware  of  the  fact,  I  thought  that  they  had  abandoned  me  to  my  fate.  I  will 
not  attempt  to  describe  my  sensations ;  but  my  bodily  condition  was  such,  that 
when  the  cold  increased  with  the  approach  of  night,  I  was  seized  with  a  violent 
fever.  I  thought  my  last  hour  was  come,  and  prepared  for  my  journey  to  an- 
other world." 

The  re-appearance  of  the  guides  relieved  Castren  of  his  anxiety,  and  when  the 
little  party  reached  some  Samoiede  huts,  the  eldest  of  the  guides  knelt  down  at 
the  side  of  our  traveller's  sledge  and  expressed  his  joy  in  a  prayer  to  God,  beg- 
ging Castren  to  join  him  in  his  thanksgivings, "  for  He,  and  not  I,  has  this  night 
saved  thee." 

The  next  morning,  as  the  weather  seemed  to  improve,  and  the  road  (along 
the  Indiga  River)  to  the  next  Russian  settlement  was  easy  to  find,  Castren  re- 
solved to  pursue  his  journey.  "  But  the  storm  once  more  arose,  and  became  so 
dreadfully  violent  that  I  could  neither  breathe  nor  keep  my  eyes  open  against 
the  wind.  The  roaring  of  the  gale  stupefied  my  senses.  The  moist  snow 
wetted  me  during  the  day,  and  the  night  converted  it  into  ice.  Half  frozen,  I 
arrived  after  midnight  at  the  settlement.  The  fatigues  of  the  journey  had  been 
such  that  I  could  scarcely  stand ;  I  had  almost  lost  my  consciousness,  and  my 
sight  had  suffered  so  much  from  the  wind  that  I  repeatedly  ran  with  my  fore- 
head against  the  wall.  The  roaring  of  the  storm  continually  resounded  in  my 
ears  for  many  hours  after." 

A  few  days  later  Castren  arrived  at  Pustosersk,  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
dreariest  places  in  the  world.  With  scarcely  a  trace  of  arboreal  vegetation,  the 
eye,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  rests  on  an  interminable  waste  of  snow, 
where  the  cold  winds  are  almost  pei'petually  raging.  The  storms  are  so  violent 
as  not  seldom  to  carry  away  the  roofs  of  the  huts,  and  to  prevent  the  wretched 
inhabitants  from  fetching  water  and  fuel.  In  this  Northern  Eden  our  inde- 
fatigable ethnologist  tarried  several  months,  as  it  afforded  him  an  excellent  op- 
portunity for  continuing  his  studies  of  the  language,  manners,  and  religion  of  the 
Samo'iedes,  who  come  to  the  fair  of  Pustosersk  during  the  winter,  to  barter  their 
reindeer  skuas  for  flour  and  other  commodities,  and  at  the  same  time  to  indulge 
in  their  favorite  beverage — brandy.  At  length  the  SamoiedeS  retired,  the  busy 
season  of  the  place  was  evidently  at  an  end,  and  Castren,  having  no  further  in- 
ducement to  remain  at  Pustosersk,  left  it  for  the  village  of  Ustsylmsk,  situated 
150  versts  higher  up  the  Petschora,  where  he  hoped  still  to  find  some  straggling 
Samoiedes.  The  road  to  Ustsylmsk  leads  through  so  desolate  a  i-egion,  that, 
according  to  the  priests  of  the  neighborhood,  it  can  not  have  been  originally 
created  by  God  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  but  must  have  been  formed  after 
the  Deluge.  Near  Ustsylmsk  (65°  30'  N.  lat.)  the  country  improves,  as  most  of 
the  northern  trees  grow  about  the  place ;  but,  unfortunately,  a  similar  praise 
can  not  be  awarded  to  its  inhabitants,  whom  Castren  found  to  be  the  most 
brutal  and  obstinate  Raskolniks  (or  sectarians)  he  had  ever  seen.  Without  in 
the  least  caring  for  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  indulging  in  every  vice,  these 


174  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

absurd  fanatics  fancied  themselves  better  than  the  rest  of  mankind,  because  they 
made  the  sign  of  tlie  cross  with  the  thumb  and  the  two  last  fingers,  and  stood 
for  hours  together  before  an  image  in  stupid  contemplation.  Our  homeless 
traveller  soon  became  the  object  of  their  persecutions ;  they  called  him  "  wiz- 
ard," "  a  poisoner  of  rivers  and  wells,"  and  insulted  him  during  his  walks.  At 
length  they  even  attempted  to  take  his  life,  so  that  he  thought  best  to  retreat 
to  Ishemsk,  on  the  Ishma,  a  hundred  versts  farther  to  the  south.  But,  unfor- 
tunately, his  bad  reputation  had  preceded  him,  and  although  the  Isprawnik 
(or  parish  official)  and  his  wife  warmly  took  his  part,  the  people  continued  to 
regard  him  with  suspicion. 

Towards  the  end  of  June  Castren  ascended  the  Petschora  and  its  chief  trib- 
utary, the  Uusa,  as  far  as  the  village  of  Kolwa,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of 
the  summer,  deeply  buried  as  usual  in  Samoiede  studies.  Beyond  Kolwa,  which 
he  left  on  September  1 6  for  Obdorsk,  there  is  not  a  single  settlement  along  the 
Uusa  and  its  tributaries. 

As  he  ascended  the  river,  the  meadows  on  its  low  banks  appeared  colored 
with  the  gray  tints  of  autumn.  Sometimes  a  wild  animal  started  from  its  lair, 
but  no  vestige  of  man  was  to  be  seen.  Countless  flocks  of  wild  ducks  and 
geese  passed  over  the  ti-aveller's  head,  on  their  way  southward. 

After  many  a  tedious  delay,  caused  by  storms  and  contrary  winds,  Castren 
reached  (on  September  21)  a  wretched  hut,  about  forty  versts  from  the  Ural, 
where  he  was  obUged  to  wait  a  whole  month,  with  fourteen  other  persons, 
until  the  snow-track  over  the  mountains  became  practicable  for  sledges. 

The  total  want  of  every  comfort,  the  bad  company,  the  perpetual  rain,  and 
the  dreary  aspect  of  the  country,  made  his  prolonged  stay  in  this  miserable  ten- 
ement almost  unbearable.  At  length,  on  October  25,  he  was  able  to  depart,  and 
on  November  3  he  saw  the  Ural  Mountains  raising  their  snow-capped  summits 
to  the  skies.  "  The  weather  is  mild,"  said  his  Samoiede  driver,  "  and  thou  art 
fortunate,  but  the  Ural  can  be  very  different."  He  then  described  the  dreadful 
storms  that  rage  over  the  boundary-chain  which  separates  Europe  from  Asia, 
and  how  they  precipitate  stones  and  rocks  from  the  mountain-tops. 

This  time  the  dreaded  pass  was  crossed  in  safety,  and  on  November  9, 1843, 
Castren  arrived  at  Obdorsk,  on  the  Obi,  exhausted  in  strength  and  shattered  in 
health,  but  yet  delighted  to  find  himself  in  Asia,  the  land  of  his  early  dreams. 
Obdorsk— the  most  northerly  colony  in  Western  Siberia,  and,  as  may  easily 
be  imagined,  utterly  deficient  in  all  that  can  be  interesting  to  an  ordinary 
traveller — was  as  much  as  a  university  to  the  zealous  student,  for  several 
thousands  of  Samoiedes  and  Ostiaks  congregate  to  its  fair  from  hundreds  of 
versts  around. 

No  better  place  could  possibly  be  found  for  the  prosecution  of  his  research- 
es ;  but  the  deplorable  condition  of  his  health  did  not  allow  him  to  remain  as 
long  as  he  would  have  desired  at  this  fountain-head  of  knowledge.  He  was  thus 
obUged  to  leave  for  Tobolsk,  and  to  return  in  March,  1844,  by  the  shortest  road 
to  Finland. 

In  the  following  summer  (1845)  we  again  find  him  on  the  banks  of  the 
Irtysch  and  the  Obi,  plunged  in  Ostiak  studies  with  renewed  energy  and  enthu- 


MATTHIAS  ALEXANDER   CASTRlilK  175 

siasm.  Aftei-  having  sojourned  for  several  weelcs  at  Toropkowa,  a  small  island 
at  the  confluence  of  these  two  mighty  streams,  he  ascended  the  Obi  in  July  as 
far  as  Surgut,  where  he  arrived  in  the  beginning  of  August. 

In  consequence  of  the  overflowing  of  its  waters,  the  river  had  spread  into  a 
boundless  lake,  whose  monotony  was  only  relieved,  from  time  to  time,  by  some 
small  wooded  island  or  some  inundated  village.  The  rising  of  the  stream  had 
spread  misery  far  and  wide,  for  many  Ostiak  families  had  been  obliged  to  aban- 
don their  huts,  and  to  seek  a  refuge  in  the  forests.  Those  who  had  horses 
and  cows  had  the  greatest  difficulty  to  keep  them  alive ;  and  as  all  the  meadows 
were  under  watei-,  and  the  autumn,  with  its  night-frosts,  was  already  approach- 
ing, there  was  scarcely  any  hope  of  making  hay  for  the  winter. 

As  Castren  proceeded  on  his  journey,  the  low  banks  of  the  river  rose  above 
the  waters,  and  appeared  in  all  their  wild  and  gloomy  desolation.  The  number 
of  inhabitants  along  the  Obi  is  utterly  insignificant  when  compared  with  the 
wide  extent  of  the  country  ;  and  as  hunting  and  fishing  are  their  chief  occupa- 
tions, nothing  is  done  to  subdue  the  Avilderness.  The  weary  eye  sees  but  a  dull 
succession  of  moors,  willow  bushes,  dry  heaths,  and  firs  on  the  higher  grounds. 
Near  every  flourishing  tree  stands  another  bearing  the  marks  of  decay.  The 
young  grass  is  hemmed  in  its  growth  by  that  of  the  previous  year,  Avhich  even 
in  July  gives  the  meadow  a  dull  ash-gray  color.  Cranes,  wild  ducks,  and  geese 
are  almost  the  only  living  creatures  to  be  seen.  From  Siljarski  to  Surgut,  a 
distance  of  200  versts,  there  are  but  three  Russian  villages ;  and  the  Ostiaks, 
who  form  the  main  part  of  the  population,  generally  live  along  the  tributary 
rivers,  or  erect  their  summer  huts  on  the  smaller  arms  of  the  Obi,  where  they 
can  make  a  better  use  of  their  very  imperfect  fishing  implements  than  on  the 
principal  stream. 

Surgut,  once  a  fortress,  and  the  chief  tOAvn  of  the  Cossack  conquerors  of  Si- 
beria, is  now  reduced  to  a  few  miserable  huts,  scattered  among  the  ruins  of  re- 
peated conflagrations. 

Here  Castren  remained  till  September  24,  occupied  with  the  study  of  the  va- 
rious dialects  of  the  neighboring  Ostiak  tribes,  and  then  ascended  the  Obi  as  far 
as  Narym,  a  distance  of  800  versts.  Most  of  the  fishermen  had  already  retired 
from  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  a  death-like  stillness,  rarely  interrupted  by  an 
Ostiak  boat  rapidly  shooting  through  the  stream,  reigned  over  its  Avatcrs. 

Fortunately  the  weather  was  fine,  at  least  during  the  first  days  of  the  journey ; 
and  the  gi-een  river-banks,  the  birds  singing  in  the  trees,  and  the  sunbeams 
glancing  over  the  wide  mirror  of  the  Obi,  somewhat  enlivened  the  monotony 
of  the  scene. 

After  having  enjoyed  at  Narym  a  remarkably  mild  Siberian  winter,  as  no 
crows  had  been  frozen  to  death,  and  having  increased  his  knowledge  of  the  Os- 
tiak dialects,  Castren  proceeded  in  the  following  spring,  by  way  of  Tomsk,  to 
Krasnojarsk,  on  the  Jenissei,  Avhere  he  arrived  in  April,  1846,  and  was  Avelcomed 
in  a  most  agreeable  and  unexpected  manner.  It  will  be  remembered  that  dur- 
ing his  stay  at  Ishemsk,  in  the  tundra  of  the  Samoiedes,  he  found  warm-hearted 
friends  and  protectors  against  the  insane  bigotry  of  the  Raskolniks  in  the  Is- 
prawnik  and  his  young  and  amiable  wife.     Of  the  latter  it  might  truly  be  said 


176  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

that  she  was  like  a  flower  born  to  blush  unseen  in  the  desert.  Remarkably  elo- 
quent, she  was  no  less  talented  in  expressing  her  thoughts  by  writing ;  and  yet 
she  was  only  the  daughter  of  a  serf  who  had  been  exiled  to  Krasnojarsk,  and 
had  spent  a  great  part  of  a  small  property,  acquired  by  industry  and  economy, 
in  the  education  of  his  gifted  daughter.  The  Isprawnik,  a  young  Pole  of  insin- 
uating manners,  having  gained  her  affections,  she  had  accompanied  him  to  Ish- 
emsk  as  his  wife. 

From  what  Castren  had  told  her  three  years  since  about  his  future  plans,  she 
knew  that  he  would  probably  arrive  about  this  time  at  Krasnojarsk,  and  had 
written  a  letter,  which  reached  its  destination  only  a  few  hours  before  him.  It 
was  to  her  father,  earnestly  begging  him  to  pay  every  attention  to  the  homeless 
sti-anger.  The  feelings  of  Castren  may  easily  be  imagined  when  the  old  man 
knocked  at  his  door,  and  brought  him  these  friendly  greetings  from  a  distance 
of  6000  versts.* 

But  his  stay  at  Krasnojarsk  was  not  of  long  duration,  for  he  was  impatient 
to  proceed  northward,  for  the  purpose  of  becoming  acquainted  with  the  tribes 
dwelling  along  the  Jenissei,  after  having  studied  their  brethern  of  the  Obi.  From 
June  till  the  end  of  July,  his  literary  pursuits  detained  him  at  Turuchansk, 
where,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Arctic  Circle,  he  had  much  to  suffer  from  the  heat 
and  the  mosquitoes.  In  the  beginning  of  August  the  signs  of  approaching 
winter  made  their  appearance,  the  cold  north  wind  swept  away  the  leaves  from 
the  trees,  the  fishermen  retired  to  the  woods,  and  the  ducks  and  geese  prepared 
to  migrate  to  the  south.  And  now  Castren  also  took  leave  of  Turuchansk — not 
however,  like  the  birds,  for  a  more  sunny  region,  but  to  bury  himself  still  deep- 
er in  the  northern  wilds  of  the  Jenissei.  Below  Turuchansk  the  river  begins  to 
flow  so  languidly,  that  when  the  wind  is  contrary,  the  boat  must  be  dragged 
along  by  dogs,  and  advances  no  more  than  from  five  to  ten  versts  during  a 
whole  day.  Thus  the  traveller  has  full  time  to  notice  the  willows  on  the  left 
bank,  and  the  firs  on  the  right ;  the  ice-blocks,  surviving  memorials  of  the  last 
winter,  which  the  spring  inundations  have  left  here  and  there  on  the  banks  of 
the  vast  stream;  and  the  countless  troops  of  wild  birds  that  fly  with  loud 
clamor  over  his  head. 

About  365  versts  below  Turuchansk  is  situated  Plachina,the  fishing-station 
of  a  small  tribe  of  Samoiedes,  among  whom  Castren  tarried  three  weeks.  He 
had  taken  possession  of  the  best  of  the  three  huts  of  which  the  place  consisted, 
but  even  this  would  have  been  perfectly  intolerable  to  any  one  but  our  zealous 
ethnologist.  Into  his  study  the  daylight  penetrated  so  sparingly  through  a 
small  hole  in  the  wall,  that  he  was  often  obliged  to  write  by  the  light  of  a  resi- 
nous torch  in  the  middle  of  the  day. 

The  flame  flickering  in  the  wind,  which  blew  through  a  thousand  crevices,  af- 
fected his  eyes  no  less  severely  than  the  smoke,  which  at  the  same  time  render- 
ed respiration  difficult.  Although  the  roof  had  been  repaired,  yet  during  every 
strong  rain — and  it  rained  almost  perpetually — he  was  obliged  to  pack  up  his 
papers,  and  to  protect  himself  from  the  wet  as  if  he  had  been  in  the  open  air. 
From  this  delightful  residence,  Castren,  still  pursuing  his  study  of  the  Samoi- 
*  The  verst  is  about  three-fifths  of  a  mile. 


MATTHIAS   ALEXANDER    GASTRIN.  177 

ede  dialects,  proceeded  down  tlie  river  to  Dudinka,  and  finally,  in  November,  to 
Tolstoi  Noss,  whose  pleasant  cliipate  may  be  judged  of  by  the  fact  that  it  is  sit- 
uated in  the  latitude  of  71°.  This  last  voyage  was  performed  in  a  "  balok,"  or 
close  sledge,  covered  with  reindeer  skins.  The  tediousness  of  being  conveyed 
like  a  corpse  in  a  dark  and  narrow  box,  induced  him  to  exchange  the  "  balok  " 
for  an  open  sledge  ;  but  the  freezing  of  his  feet,  of  his  fingers,  and  of  part  of  his 
face,  soon  caused  him  to  repent  of  his  temerity.  As  soon  as  this  accident  was 
discovered  at  the  next  station,  Castren  crept  back  again  into  his  prison,  and  was 
heartily  glad  when,  after  a  nine  days'  confinement,  he  at  length  arrived  at  Tolstoi 
Noss,  which  he  found  to  consist  of  four  wretched  huts.  Here  again  he  spent 
several  weeks  studying  by  torchlight,  for  the  sun  had  made  his  last  appearance 
in  November,  and  the  day  was  reduced  to  a  faint  glimmering  at  noon.  In  Jan- 
uary we  find  him  on  his  return-voyage  to  Turuchansk,  a  place  which,  though  not 
very  charming  in  itself,  appeared  delightful  to  Castren  after  a  six  months'  resi- 
dence in  the  tundras  beyond  the  Arctic  Circle. 

Turuchansk  can  boast  at  least  of  seeing  some  daylight  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year,  and  this  may  be  enjoyed  even  within-doors,  f or  Turuchansk  possesses  no 
less  than  four  houses  with  glass  windows.  Longing  to  reach  this  comparative- 
ly sunny  place,  Castren,  against  his  usual  custom,  resolved  to  travel  day  and 
night  without  stopping,  but  his  impatience  well-nigh' proved  fatal  to  him.  His 
Samo  ede  guide  had  not  perceived  in  the  dark  that  the  waters  of  the  Jenissei, 
over  which  they  were  traveUing,  had  oozed  through  fissures  in  the  ice,  and  in- 
undated the  surface  of  the  river  far  and  wide.  Thus  he  drove  into  the  water, 
which  of  course  was  rapidly  congealing ;  the  reindeer  were  unable  to  drag  the 
sledge  back  again  upon  the  land,  and  Castren  stuck  fast  on  the  river,  with  the 
agreeable  prospect  of  being  frozen  to  death.  From  this  imminent  danger  he 
was  rescued  by  a  wonderful  circumstance.  Letters  having  arrived  from  the 
Imperial  Academy  of  St.  Petersburg,  a  courier  had  been  dispatched  from  Turu- 
chansk to  convey  them  to  Castren.  This  courier  fortunately  reached  him  Avhile 
*  he  was  in  this  perilous  situation,  helped  him  on  land,  and  conducted  him  to  a 
Samoiede  hut,  where  he  was  able  to  warm  his  stiffened  limbs. 

After  such  a  joui'uey,  we  can  not  wonder  tliat,  on  arriving  at  Turuchansk, 
he  was  so  tormented  Avith  rheumatism  and  toothache  as  to  be  obliged  to  rest 
there  several  days.  With  sore  joints  and  an  aching  body,  he  slowly  proceeded 
to  Jeniseisk,  where  he  arrived  on  April  3,  1847,  in  a  wretched  state  of  health, 
which  however  had  not  interrupted  his  Ostiak  studies  on  the  way.  I  rapidly 
glance  over  his  subsequent  travels,  as  they  are  but  a  repetition  of  the  same 
privations  and  the  same  hardships,  all  cheerfully  sustained  for  the  love  of  knowl- 
edge. Having  somewhat  recruited  his  strength  at  Jeniseisk,  he  crossed  the 
Saj an  Mountains  to  visit  some  Samoiedes  beyond  the  Russian  frontier — a  jour- 
ney which,  besides  the  usual  fatigues,  involved  the  additional  risk  of  being  ar- 
rested as  a  spy  by  the  Chinese  authorities  ;  and  the  year  after  he  visited  Trans- 
baikalia, to  make  inquiries  among  the  Buriat  priests  about  the  ancient  history 
of  Siberia. 

Having  thus  accomplished  his  task,  and  thoroughly  investigated  the  wild  na- 
tions of  the  Finnish  race  from  the  confines  of  the  Arctic  Sea  to  the  Altai — a  task 

12 


178  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

which  cost  him  his  health,  and  the  best  part  of  his  energies— he  longed  to 
breathe  the  air  of  his  native  country.  But  neither  th§  pleasures  of  home,  nor 
a  professorship  at  the  University  of  Helsingfors,  richly  earned  by  almost  super- 
human exertions,  were  able  to  arrest  the  germs  of  disease,  which  journeys  such 
as  these  could  scarcely  fail  to  plant  even  in  his  originally  robust  constitution. 
After  lingering  some  years,  he  died  in  1855,  universally  lamented  by  his  coun- 
trymen, who  justly  mourned  his  early  death  as  a  national  loss. 


THE    SA3I0IEDES. 


179 


A  SAMOIEDE  PRIEST. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   SAMOIEDES. 

Their  Barbarism. — Num,  or  Jilibeambaertje. — Shamanism.— Saraofede  Idols. — Sjadaei. — Hahe. — The  Ta- 
debtsios,  or  Spirits.— The  Tadibes,  or  Sorcerers.— Their  Dress.— Their  Invocations.— Their  conjuring 
Tricks. — Reverence  paid  to  the  Dead. — A  Samoiede  Oath. — Appearance  of  the  Samoiedes. — Their 
Dress. — A  Samoiede  BeUe. — Character  of  the  Samoiedes. — Their  decreasing  Numbers.— Traditions  of 
ancient  Heroes. 

r~pHE  Samoiedes,  the  neighbors  of  the  Laplanders,  are  still  farther  removed 
-'-  from  civilized  society,  and  plunged  in.  even  deeper  barbarism.  The  wildest 
tundras  and  woods  of  Northern  Russia  and  Western  Siberia  are  the  home  of 
the  Samoiede.  With  his  reindeer  herds  he  wanders  over  the  naked  wastes, 
from  the  eastern  coast  of  the  White  Sea  to  the  banks  of  the  Chatanga,  or  himts 
in  the  boundless  forests  between  the  Obi  and  the  Jenissei.  His  intercourse  with 
the  Russians  is  confined  to  his  annual  visit  at  the  fairs  of  such  miserable  settle- 
ments as  Obdorsk  and  Pustosersk,  where,  far  from  improving  by  their  compa- 
ny, he  but  too  often  becomes  the  prey  of  their  avarice,  and  learns  to  know  them 
merely  as  cheats  and  oppressors.  Protestant  missionaries  have  long  since 
brought  instruction  to  the  Laplander's  hut,  but  the  majority  of  the  less  fortu- 
nate Samoiedes  still  adhere  to  the  gross  superstitions  of  their  fathers.  They 
believe  in  a  Supreme  Being — Num,  or  Jilibeambaertje — who  resides  in  the  air, 
and,  like  the  Jupiter  of  old,  sends  downi  thunder  and  lightning,  rain  and  snow  ; 
and  as  a  proof  that  something  of  a  poetic  fancy  is  to  be  found  even  among  the 
most  savage  nations,  they  call  the  rainbow  "  the  hem  of  his  garment."  As  this 
deity,  however,  is  too  far  removed  from  them  to  leave  them  any  hope  of  gain- 


180  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

ing  his  favor,  they  never  think  of  offering  him  either  prayer  or  sacrifice.  But, 
besides  Nam,  there  are  a  great  many  inferior  si)irits,  or  idols,  who  directly  in- 
terfere in  human  concerns — capricious  beings,  who  allow  themselves  to  be  in- 
fluenced by  offerings,  or  yield  to  magical  incantations ;  and  to  these,  therefore, 
the  Samoiede  has  recourse  when  he  feels  the  necessity  of  invoking  the  aid  or 
averting  the  wrath  of  a  higher  Power. 

The  chief  of  all  Samoiede  idols  is  in  the  island  of  Waygatz — a  cold  and  mel- 
ancholy Delos — where  it  was  already  found  by  old  Barentz.  This  idol  is  a  mere 
block  of  stone,  with  its  head  tapering  to  a  point.  It  has  thus  been  fashioned, 
not  by  a  mortal  artist,  but  by  a  play  of  nature.  After  this  original  the  Samo- 
iedes  have  formed  many  idols  of  stone  or  wood  of  various  sizes,  which  they  call 
"  Sjadaji,"  from  their  Assessing  a  human  physiognomy  {sja).  These  idols  they 
dress  in  reindeer  skins,  and  ornament  them  with  all  sorts  of  colored  rags.  But 
a  resemblance  to  the  human  form  is  not  the  necessary  attribute  of  a  Samoiede 
idol ;  any  irregularly-shaped  stone  or  tree  may  be  thus  distinguished.  If  the 
object  is  small,  the  savage  carries  it  everywhere  about  with  him,  carefully  wrap- 
ped up ;  if  too  cumbersome  to  be  transported,  it  is  reserved  as  a  kind  of  nation- 
al deity.  As  with  the  Ostiaks,  each  Samoiede  tribe  has  in  its  train  a  peculiar 
sledge — the  Hahengan — in  which  the  household  idols  (or  Ilahe)  are  placed. 
One  of  these  Penates  protects  the  reindeer,  another  watches  over  the  health  of 
his  worshippers,  a  third  is  the  guardian  of  their  connubial  happiness,  a  fourth 
takes  care  to  fill  their  nets  with  fish.  Whenever  his  services  are  required,  the 
Hahe  is  taken  from  his  repository,  and  erected  in  the  tent  or  on  the  pasture- 
ground,  in  the  wood  or  on  the  river's  bank.  His  mouth  is  then  smeared  with 
oil  or  blood,  and  a  dish  with  fish  or  flesh  is  set  before  him,  in  the  full  expecta- 
tion that  his  good  offices  will  amply  repay  the  savory  repast.  When  his  aid 
is  no  longer  necessary,  he  is  put  aside  without  any  further  ceremony,  and  as  lit- 
tle noticed  as  the  Madonna  of  the  Neapolitan  fisherman  after  the  storm  has 
ceased. 

The  Hahe,  or  idols,  are  very  convenient  objects  of  reverence  to  the  Samoiede, 
as  he  can  consult  them,  or  ask  their  assistance,  without  being  initiated  in  the 
secrets  of  magic ;  while  the  Tadebtsios,  or  invisible  spirits,  which  everywhere 
hover  about  in  the  air,  and  are  more  inclined  to  injure  than  to  benefit  man,  can 
only  be  invoked  by  a  Tadibe,  or  sorcerer,  who,  like  the  Cuma^an  Sibyl,  works 
himself  into  a  state  of  ecstatic  frenzy.  When  his  services  are  required,  the 
first  care  of  the  Tadibe  is  to  invest  himself  with  his  magical  mantle— a  kind  of 
shirt  made  of  reindeer  leather,  and  hemmed  with  red  cloth.  The  seams  are 
covered  in  a  similar  manner,  and  the  shoulders  are  decorated  with  epaulettes  of 
the  same  gaudy  material.  A  piece  of  red  cloth  veils  the  eyes  and  face— for  the 
Tadibe.requires  no  external  organs  of  sight  to  penetrate  into  the  world  of  spirits 
—and  a  plate  of  polished  metal  shines  upon  his  breast. 

Thus  accoutred,  the  Tadibe  seizes  his  magical  drum,  whose  sounds  summon 
the  spirits  to  his  will.  Its  form  is  round,  it  has  but  one  bottom,  made  of  rein- 
deer skin,  and  is  more  or  less  decorated  with  brass  rings  and  other  ornaments, 
according  to  the  wealth  or  poverty  of  its  possessor.  During  the  ceremony  of 
invocatioli,  the  Tadibe  is  generally  assisted  by  a  disciple,  more  or  less  initiated 


THE   SAMOIEDES.  181 

in  the  aiagic  art.  They  either  sit  down,  or  walk  about  in  a  circle.  The  chief 
sorcerer  beats  the  drum,  at  first  slowly,  then  with  increasing  violence,  singing  at 
the  same  time  a  few  words  to  a  mystic  melody.  The  disciple  immediately  falls 
in,  and  both  repeat  the  same  monotonous  chant. 

At  length  the  spirits  appear,  and  the  consultation  is  supposed  to  begin ;  the 
Tadibe  from  time  to  time  remaining  silent,  as  if  listening  to  their  answers,  and 
but  gently  beating  his  di'um,  while  the  assistant  continues  to  sing.  Finally,  this 
mute  conversation  ceases,  the  song  changes  into  a  wild  howling,  the  drum  is 
violently  struck,  the  eye  of  the  Tadibe  glows  with  a  strange  fire,  foam  issues 
from  his  lips — when  suddenly  the  uproar  ceases,  and  the  oracular  sentence  is 
pronounced.  The  Tadibes  are  consulted  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  recovering 
a  strange  reindeer,  or  to  preserve  the  herd  from  a  contagious  disorder,  or  to 
obtain  success  in  fishing ;  the  Samoiede,  when  a  prey  to  illness,  seeks  no  other 
medical  advice ;  and  the  sorcerer's  drum  either  scares  away  the  malevolent 
,  spirits  that  cause  the  malady,  or  summons  others  to  the  assistance  of  his  patient. 

The  office  of  Tadibe  is  generally  hereditary,  but  individuals  gifted  by  nature 
with  excitable  nerves  and  an  ardent  imagination  not  seldom  desire  to  be  initia- 
ted in  these  supernatural  communications.  No  one  can  teach  the  candidate. 
His  morbid  fancy  is  worked  upon  by  solitude,  the  contemplation  of  the  gloomy 
aspect  of  nature,  long  vigils,  fasts,  the  use  of  narcotics  and  stimulants,  until  he 
becomes  persuaded  that  he  too  has  seen  the  apparitions  which  he  has  heard  of 
from  his  boyhood.  He  is  then  received  as  a  Tadibe  with  many  ceremonies, 
which  are  held  in  the  silence  of  the  night,  and  invested  with  the  magic  drum. 
Thus  the  Tadibe  partly  believes  in  the  visions  and  fancies  of  his  own  overheated 
brain.  Besides  dealing  with  the  invisible  world,  he  does  not  neglect  the  usual 
arts  of  an  expert  conjuror,  and  knows  by  this  means  to  increase  his  influence 
over  his  simple-minded  countrymen.  One  of  his  commonest  tricks  is  similar  to 
that  which  has  been  practised  with  so  much  success  by  the  Brothers  Daven- 
port. He  sits  down,  with  his  hands  and  feet  bound,  on  a  reindeer  skin  stretched 
out  upon  the  floor,  and,  the  light  being  removed,  begins  to  summon  the  minis- 
tering spirits  to  his  aid.  Strange  unearthly  noises  now  begin  to  be  heard — 
bears  growl,  snakes  hiss,  squirrels  rustle  about  the  hut.  At  length  the  tumult 
ceases,  the  audience  anxiously  awaits  the  end  of  the  spectacle,  when  suddenly 
the  Tadibe,  freed  from  his  bonds,  steps  into  the  hut — no  one  doubting  that  the 
spirits  have  set  him  free. 

As  barbarous  as  the  poor  wretches  who  submit  to  his  guidance,  the  Tadibe 
is  incapable  of  improving  their  moral  condition,  and  has  no  wish  to  do  so. 
Under  various  names — Schamans  among  the  Tungusi,  Angekoks  among  the 
Esquimaux,  medicine-men  among  the  Crees  and  Chepewyans,  etc. — we  find  sim- 
ilar magicians  or  impostors  assuming  a  spiritual  dictatorship  over  all  the  Arc- 
tic nations  of  the  Old  and  the  New  World,  wherever  their  authority  has  not 
been  broken  by  Christianity  or  Buddhism ;  and  this  dreary  faith  still  extends 
its  influence  over  at  least  half  a  million  of  souls,  from  the  White  Sea  to  the  ex- 
tremity of  Asia,  and  from  the  Pacific  to  Hudson's  Bay. 

Like  the  Ostiaks  and  other  Siberian  tribes,  the  Samoiedes  honor  the  memory 
of  the  dead  by  sacrifices  and  other  ceremonies.     They  believe  that  their  de- 


183  THE  POLAR   WORLD. 

ceased  friends  have  still  the  same  wants,  and  pursue  the  same  occup*»tions,  as 
when  in  the  land  of  the  living ;  and  thus  they  place  in  or  about  their  graves  a 
sledge,  a  spear,  a  cooking-pot,  a  knife,  an  axe,  etc.,  to  assist  them  in  procuring 
and  preparing  their  food.  At  the  funeral,  and  for  several  years  afterwards,  the 
relations  sacrifice  reindeer  over  the  grave.  When  a  person  of  note,  a  prince,  a 
Starschina,  the  proprietor  of  numerous  herds  of  reindeer,  dies  (for  even  among 
the  miserable  Samoiedes  we  find  the  social  distinctions  of  rich  and  poor),  the 
nearest  relations  make  an  image,  which  is  placed  in  the  tent  of  the  deceased, 
and  enjoys  the  respect  paid  to  him  during  his  lifetime.  At  every  meal  the  im- 
age is  placed  in  his  former  seat,  and  every  evening  it  is  undressed  and  laid 
down  in  his  bed.  During  three  years  the  image  is  thus  honored,  and  then 
buried ;  for  by  this  time  the  body  is  supposed  to  be  decayed,  and  to  have  lost 
all  sensation  of  the  past.  The  souls  of  the  Tadibes,  and  of  those  who  have  died 
a  violent  death,  alone  enjoy  the  privilege  of  immortality,  and  after  their  terres- 
trial life  hover  about  in  the  air  as  unsubstantial  spirits.  ^ 

Yet  in  spite  of  this  privilege,  and  of  the  savory  morsels  that  fall  to  their 
share  at  every  sacrificial  feast,  or  of  the  presents  received  for  their  services,  the 
Tadibes  are  very  unhappy  beings.  The  ecstatic  condition  into  which  they  so 
frequently  work  themselves  shatters  their  nerves  and  darkens  their  mind.  Wild 
looks,  bloodshot  eyes,  an  uncertain  gait,  and  a  shy  manner,  are  among  the  ef- 
fects of  this  periodical  exci4,ement. 

Like  the  Ostiaks,  the  Samoiedes  consider  the  taking  of  an  oath  as  an  action 
of  the  highest  religious  importance.  When  a  crime  has  been  secretly  commit- 
ted against  a  Samoiede,  he  has  the  right  to  demand  an  oath  from  the  suspected 
person. 

If  no  wooden  or  stone  Hahe  is  at  hand,  he  manufactures  one  of  earth  or 
snow,  leads  his  opponent  to  the  image,  sacrifices  a  dog,  breaks  the  image,  and 
then  addresses  him  with  the  following  words : — "  If  thou  hast  committed  this 
crime,  then  must  thou  perish  like  this  dog."  The  ill  consequences  of  perjury 
are  so  much  dreaded  by  the  Samoides — who,  though  they  have  but  very  faint 
ideas  of  a  future  state,  firmly  believe  that  crime  will  be  punished  in  this  life, 
murder  with  violent  death,  or  robbery  by  losses  of  reindeer — that  the  true 
criminal,  when  called  upon  to  swear,  hardly  ever  submits  to  the  ceremony,  but 
rather  at  once  confesses  his  guilt  and  pays  the  penalty. 

The  most  effectual  security  for  v.n  oath  is  that  it  should  be  solemnized  over 
the  snout  of  a  bear— an  animal  which  is  highly  revered  by  all  the  Siberian  tribes, 
from  the  Karachatkans  to  the  Samoiedes,  as  well  as  by  the  Laplanders.  Like 
the  Laplanders,  they  believe  that  the  bear  conceals  under  his  shaggy  coat  a  hu- 
man shape  with  more  than  human  wisdom,  and  speak  of  him  in  terms  of  the 
highest  reverence.  Like  the  Lapps  also,  when  occasion  offers,  they  will  drive 
an  arrow  or  a  bullet  through  his  skin ;  but  they  preface  the  attack  with  so 
many  compliments  that  they  feel  sure  of  disarming  his  anger. 

The  appearance  of  the  Samoiedes  is  as  wild  as  the  country  which  they  in- 
habit. The  dwarfish  stature  of  the  Ostiak,  or  the  Lapp,  thick  lips,  small  eyes, 
a  low  forehead,  a  broad  nose  so  much  flattened  that  the  end  is  nearly  upon  a 
level  with  the  bone  of  the  upper  jaw  (which  is  strong  and  greatly  elevated). 


THE   SAMOIEDES.  183 

raven-black  shaggy  hair,  a  thin  beard,  and  a  yellow-brown  complexion,  are  their 
characteristic  features,  and  in  general  they  do  nothing  to  improve  a  form  which 
has  but  little  natural  beauty  to  boast  of.  The  Samoiede  is  satisfied  if  his  Ineavy 
reindeer  dress  affords  him  protection  against  the  cold  and  rain,  and  cares  little 
if  it  be  dirty  or  ill-cut ;  some  dandies,  however,  wear  furs  trimmed  with  cloth 
of  a  gaudy  color.  The  women,  as  long  as  they  are  unmarried,  take  some  pains 
with  their  persons ;  and  when  a  Samoiede  girl,  with  her  small  and  lively  black 
eyes,  appears  in  her  reindeer  jacket  tightly  fitting  round  the  waist,  and  trim- 
med with  dog-skin,  in  her  scarlet  moccasins,  and  her  long  black  tresses  orna- 
mented with  i^ieces  of  brass  or  tin,  she  may  well  tempt  some  rich  admirer  to 
offer  a  whole  herd  of  reindeer  for  her  hand.  For  among  the  Samoiedes  no 
father  ever  thinks  of  bestowing  a  portion  on  his  daughter :  on  the  contrary,  he 
expects  from  the  bridegroom  an  equivalent  for  the  services  which  he  is  about 
to  lose  by  her  marriage.  The  consequence  of  this  degrading  custom  is  that  the 
husband  treats  his  consort  like  a  slave,  or  as  an  inferior  being.  A  Samoiede, 
who  had  murdered  his  wife,  was  quite  surprised  at  being  summoned  before  a 
court  of  justice  for  what  he  considered  a  trifling  offense;  "he  had  honestly 
paid  for  her,"  he  said,  "and  could  surely  do  what  he  liked  with  his  own." 

The  senses  and  faculties  of  the  Samoiedes  correspond  to  their  mode  of  life 
as  nomads  and  hunters.  They  have  a  piercing  eye,  delicate  hearing,  and  a 
steady  hand :  they  shoot  an  arrow  with  great  accuracy,  and  are  swift  runners. 
On  the  other  hand,  they  have  a  gross  taste,  generally  consuming  their  fish  or 
their  reindeer  flesh  raw  ;  and  their  smell  is  so  weak  that  they  ajipear  qtiite  in- 
sensible to  the  putrefying  odors  arising  from  the  scrapings  of  skins,  stinking 
fish,  and  other  offal  which  is  allowed  to  accumulate  in  and  about  their  huts. 

The  Samoiede  is  good-natured,  melancholy,  and  phlegmatic.  He  has,  in- 
deed, but  indistinct  notions  of  right  and  wrong,  of  good  and  evil ;  but  he  pos- 
sesses a  grateful  heart,  and  is  ready  to  divide  his  last  moi-sel  with  his  fi'iend. 
Cruelty,  revenge,  the  darker  crimes  that  pollute  so  many  of  the  savage  tribes 
of  the  tropical  zone,  are  foreign  to  his  character.  Constantly  at  war  with  a 
dreadful  climate,  a  prey  to  ignorance  and  poverty,  he  regards  most  of  the 
things  of  this  life  with  supreme  indifference.  A  good  meal  is  of  course  a 
matter  of  importance  in  his  eyes  ;  but  even  the  want  of  a  meal  he  will  bear 
with  stoical  apathy,  when  it  can  only  be  gained  by  exertion,  for  he  sets  a  still 
higher  value  on  repose  and  sleep. 

A  common  trait  in  the  character  of  all  Samoiedes  is  the  gloomy  view  which 
they  take  of  life  and  its  concerns  ;  their  internal  world  is  as  cheerless  as  that 
which  surrounds  them.  True  men  of  ice  and  snow,  they  relinquish,  without  a 
murmur,  a  life  which  they  can  hardly  love,  as  it  imposes  upon  them  many 
privations,  and  affords  them  but  few  pleasures  in  return. 

They  are  suspicious,  like  all  oppressed  nations  that  have  much  to  suffer  from 
their  more  crafty  or  energetic  neighbors.  Obstinately  attached  to  their  old 
customs,  they  are  opposed  to  all  innovations ;  and  they  have  been  so  often  de- 
ceived by  the  Russians,  that  they  may  well  be  pardoned  if  they  look  with  a 
mistrustful  eye  upon  all  benefits  coming  from  that  source. 

The  wealth  of  the  Samoiedes  consists  in  the  possession  of  herds  of  reindeer. 


184  THE  POLAK  WORLD. 

and  P.  von  Krusenstern,  in  1845,  calculated  the  number  owned  by  the  Sarao- 
iedes  of  the  Lower  Petschora,  near  Pustosersk,  at  40,000  head— a  much  small- 
er nftmber  than  what  they  formerly  had,  owing  to  a  succession  of  misfortunes. 
The  Russian  settlers  along  that  immense  stream  and  its  tributaries  gradually 
obtain  j^ossession  of  their  best  pasture-grounds,  and  force  them  to  recede  within 
narrower  and  narrower  limits.  Thus  many  have  been  reduced  to  the  wretch- 
ed condition  of  the  Arctic  fisherman,  or  have  been  compelled  to  exchange  their 
ancient  independence  for  a  life  of  submission  to  the  will  of  an  imperious  master. 
The  entire  number  of  the  European  and  Asiatic  Samoiedes  is  estimated  at 
no  more  than  about  10,000,  and  this  number,  small  as  it  is  when  compared  to 
the  vast  territory  over  which  they  roam,  is  still  decreasing  from  year  to  year. 
Before  their  subjugation  by  the  Russians,  the  Samoiedes  were  frequently  at  war 
with  their  neighbors,  the  Ostiaks,  the  Woguls,  and  the  Tartars,  and  the  rude 
poems  which  celebrate  the  deeds  of  the  heroes  of  old  are  still  sung  in  the  tents 
of  their  peaceful  descendants.  The  minstrel,  or  trouhadour — if  I  may  be  al- 
lowed to  use  these  names  while  speaking  of  the  rudest  of  mankind — is  seated 
in  the  centre  of  the  hut,  while  the  audience  squat  around.  His  gesticulations 
endeavor  to  express  his  sympathy  with  his  hero.  His  body  trembles,  his  voice 
quivers,  and  during  the  more  pathetic  parts  of  his  story,  tears  start  to  his  eyes, 
and  he  covers  his  face  with  his  left  hand,  while  the  right,  holding  an  arrow,  di- 
rects its  point  to  the  ground.  The  audience  generally  keep  silence,  but  theii' 
groans  accompany  the  hero's  death  ;  or  when  he  soars  upon  an  eagle  to  the 
clouds,  and  thus  escapes  the  malice  of  his  enemies,  they  express  their  delight 
by  a  triumphant  shout. 


THE   OSTIAKS. 


185 


BANKS  OF  THE  IBTTSCH. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  OSTIAKS. 

What  is  the  Obi?— Inundations.— An  Ostiak  summer  Yourt.— Poverty  of  tlie  Ostiak  Fishermen.— A 
winter  Yourt.— Attachment  of  the  Ostiaks  to  their  ancient  Customs.— An  Ostiak  Prince.— Archery. 
— Appearance  and  Character  of  the  Ostiaks.— The  Fair  of  Obdorsk. 

WHAT  is  the  Obi  ? — "  One  of  the  most  melancholy  rivers  on  earth,"  say 
the  few  European  travellers  who  have  ever  seen  it  roll  its  turbid  waters 
through  the  wilderness,  "  its  monotonous  banks  a  dreary  succession  of  s-v^amps 
and  dismal  pine-forests,  and  hardly  a  living  creature  to  be  seen,  but  cranes, 
wild  ducks,  and  geese."  If  you  address  the  same  question  to  one  of  the  few 
Russians  who  have  settled  on  its  banks,  he  answers,  with  a  devout  mien,  "  Obi 
is  our  mother ;"  but  if  you  ask  the  Ostiak,  he  bursts  forth,  in  a  laconic  but  en- 
ergetic phrase,  "  Obi  is  the  god  whom  we  honor  above  all  our  other  gods." 

To  him  the  Obi  is  a  source  of  life.  With  its  salmon  and  sturgeon  he  pays* 
his  taxes  and  debts,  and  buys  his  few  luxuries ;  while  the  fishes  of  inferior 
quality  which  get  entangled  in  his  net  he  keeps  for  his  own  consumption  and 
that  of  his  faithful  dog,  eating  them  mostly  raw,  so  that  the  perch  not  seldom 
feels  his  teeth  as  soon  as  it  is  pulled  out  of  the  water.  In  spring,  when  the 
Obi  and  its  tributaries  burst  their  bonds  of  ice,  and  the  floods  sweep  over  the 
plains,  the  Ostiak  is  frequently  driven  into  the  woods,  where  he  finds  but  little 
to  appease  his  hunger ;  at  length,  however,  the  waters  subside,  the  flat  banks 


186  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

of  the  river  appear  above  their  surface,  and  the  savage  erects  his  summer  hut 
close  to  its  stream.  This  hovel  has  generally  a  quadrangular  form,  low  walls, 
and  a  high  pointed  roof,  made  of  willow-branches  covered  with  large  pieces  of 
bark.  These,  having  first  been  softened  by  boiUng,  are  sewn  together,  so  as  to 
form  large  mats  or  carpets,  easily  rolled  up  and  transported.  The  hearth,  a 
mere  hole  inclosed  by  a  few  stones,  is  in  the  centre,  and  the  smoke  escapes 
through  an  apertiire  at  the  top.  Close  to  the  hut  there  is  also,  generally,  a 
small  store-house  erected  on  hi^  poles,  as  in  Lapland  ;  for  the  provisions  must 
be  secured  against  the  attacks  of  the  glutton,  the  wolf,  or  the  owner's  dogs. 

Although  the  Obi  and  its  tributaries — the  Irtysch,  the  Wach,  the  Wasju- 
gan — abundantly  provide  for  the  wants  of  the  Ostiaks,  yet  those  who  ai-e  ex- 
clusively fishermen  vegetate  in  a  state  of  the  greatest  poverty,  in  indolence, 
drunkenness,  and  vice.  The  wily  Russian  settlers  have  got  them  completely 
in  their  power,  by  advancing  them  goods  on  credit,  and  thus  securing  the  prod- 
uce of  their  fisheries  from  year  to  year.  During  the  whole  summer  Russian 
speculators  from  Obdorsk,  Beresow,  and  Tobolsk  sail  about  on  the  Obi,  to  re- 
ceive from  their  Ostiak  debtors  the-  salmon  and  sturgeon  which  they  have 
caught,  or  to  fish  on  their  own  accoiJnt,  which,  as  having  better  nets  and  more 
assistance,  they  do  with  much  greater  success  than  the  poor  savages. 

The  Russian  Government  has,  indeed,  confirmed  the  Ostiaks  in  the  posses- 
sion of  almost  all  the  land  and  water  in  the  territories  of  the  Lower  Obi  and 
Irtysch,  but  the  Russian  traders  find  means  to  monopolize  the  best  part  of  the 
fisheries ;  for  ignorance  and  stupidity,  in  spite  of  all  laws  in  their  favor,  are 
nowhere  a  match  for  mercantile  cunning. 

At  the  beginning  of  winter  the  Ostiaks  retire  into  the  woods,  where  they 
find  at  least  some  protection  against  the  Arctic  blasts,  and  are  busy  hunting 
the  sable  or  the  squirrel ;  but  as  fishing  affords  them  at  all  times  their  chief 
food,  they  take  care  to  establish  their  winter  huts  on  some  eminence  above  the 
reach  of  the  spring  inundations,  near  some  small  river,  which,  through  holes 
made  in  the  ice,  affords  their  nets  and  anglers  a  precarious  supply.  Their 
winter  yourt  is  somewhat  more  solidly  constructed  than  their  summer  resi- 
dence, as  it  is  not  removed  every  year.  It  is  low  and  small,  and  its  walls  are 
plastft-ed  with  clay.  Light  is  admitted  through  a  piece  of  ice  inserted  in  the 
wall  or  on  the  roof.  In  the  better  sort  of  huts,  the  space  along  one  or  several 
of  the  walls  is  hung  with  mats  made  of  sedges,  and  here  the  family  sits  or 
sleeps.  Sometimes  a  small  antechamber  serves  to  hang  up  the  clothes,  or  is 
used  as  a  repository  for  household  utensils.  Besides  those  who  five  solely  upon 
fishes  and  birds  of  passage,  there  are  other  Ostiaks  who  possess  reindeer  herds, 
^and  wander  in  summer  to  the  border  of  the  Polar  sea,  where  they  also  catch 
seals  and  fish.  When  winter  approaches,  they  slowly  return  to  the  woods. 
Finally,  in  the  more  southerly  districts,  there  are  some  Ostiaks  who,  having 
entirely  adopted  the  Russian  mode  of  life,  cultivate  the  soil,  keep  cattle,  or  earn 
their  livelihood  as  carriers. 

In  general,  however,  the  Ostiak,  like  the  Samoiede,  obstinately  withstands 
all  innovations,  and  remains  true  to  the  customs  of  his  forefathers.  He  has 
been  so  often  deceived  by  the  Russians  that  he  is  loth  to  receive  the  gifts  of 


THE   OSTIAKS.  187 

civilization  from  their  hands.  He  fears  that  if  his  children  learn  to  read  and 
write,  they  will  no  longer  be  satisfied  to  live  like  their  parents,  and  that  the 
school  will  deprive  him  of  the  support  of  his  age.  He  is  no  less  obstinately  at- 
tached to  the  religion  of  his  fathers,  which  in  all  essential  points  is  identical 
with  that  of  the  Samoiedes.  In  some  of  the  southern  districts,  along  the  Ir- 
tysch,  at  Surgut,  he  has  indeed  been  baptized,  and  hangs  up  the  image  of  a 
saint  in  his  hut,  as  his  Russian  pope  or  priest  has  instructed  him  to  do  ;  but 
his  Christianity  extends  no  farther.  Along  the  tributaries  of  the  Obi,  and  be- 
low Obdorsk,  he  is  still  plunged  in  Schamanism. 

Like  the  Samoiedes,  the  Ostiaks,  whose  entire  number  amounts  to  about 
25,000,  are  subdivided  into  tribes,  reminding  one  of  the  Highland  clans.  Each 
tribe  consists  of  a  number  of  families,  of  a  common  descent,  and  sometimes 
comprising  many  hundred  individuals,  who,  however  distantly  related,  con- 
sider it  a  duty  to  assist  each  other  in  distress.  The  fortunate  fisherman  di- 
vides the  spoils  of  the  day  with  his  less  fortunate  clansman,  who  hardly  thanks 
him  for  a  gift  which  he  considers  as  his  due.  In  cases  of  dispute  the  Star- 
schina,  or  elder,  acts  as  a  judge ;  if,  however,  the  parties  are  not  satisfied  with 
his  verdict,  they  appeal  to  the  higher  authority  of  the  hereditary  chieftain  or 
prince — a  title  which  has  been  conferred  by  the  Empress  Catherine  II.  on  the' 
Ostiak  magnates,  who,  from  time  immemorial,  have  been  considered  as  the 
heads  of  their  tribes.  These  princes  are,  of  course,  subordinate  to  the  Russian 
ofiicials,  and  bound  to  appear,  with  the  Starschinas,  at  the  fairs  of  Beresow  or 
Obdorsk,  as  they  are  answerable  for  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  various 
sorts  of  furs  which  the  Ostiaks  are  obliged  to  pay  as  a  tribute  to  Government. 
Their  dignity  is  hereditary,  and,  in  default  of  male  descendants,  passes  to  the 
nearest  male  relation.  It  must,  however,  not  be  supposed  that  these  princes 
are  distinguished  from  the  other  Ostiaks  by  their  riches  or  a  more  splendid 
appearance  ;  for  their  mode  of  life  differs  in  no  way  from  that  of  their  inferiors 
in  rank,  and,  like  them,  they  are  obhged  to  fish  or  to  himt  for  their  daily  sub- 
sistence. 

On  entering  the  hut  of  one  of  these  dignitaries,  Castren  found  him  in  a 
ragged  jacket,  while  the  princess  had  no  other  robe  of  state  but  a  shirt.  The 
prince,  having  liberally  helped  himself  from  the  brandy-bottle  which  the  trav- 
eller offered  him,  became  very  communicative,  and  complained  of  the  suffer- 
ings and  cares  of  the  past  winter.  He  had  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost,  but 
without  success.  Far  from  giving  way  to  indolence  in  his  turf-hut,  he  had  been 
out  hunting  in  the  forest,  after  the  first  snow-fall,  but  rarely  pitching  his  bark- 
tent,  and  frequently  sleeping  in  the  open  air.  Yet,  in  spite  of  all  his  exertions, 
he  had  often  not  been  able  to  shoot  a  single  ptarmigan.  His  stores  of  meal 
and  frozen  fishes  were  soon  exhausted,  and  sometimes  the  princely  family  had 
been  reduced  to  eat  the  flesh  of  wolves. 

The  Ostiaks  are  excellent  archers,  and,  like  all  the  other  hunting  tribes  of 
Siberia,  use  variously  constructed  arrows  for  the  different  objects  of  their  chase. 
Smaller  shafts,  with  a  knob  of  wood  at  the  end,  are  destined  for  the  squirrels 
and  other  small  animals  whose  fur  it  is  desirable  not  to  injure;  while  large  ar- 
rows, with  strong  triangular  iron  points,  bring  down  the  wolf,  the  bear,  and 


188 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


sometimes  the  fugitive  exile.  For,  to  prevent  the  escape  of  criminals  sentenced 
to  banishment  in  Siberia,  the  Russian  Government  allows  the  Ostiaks  to  shoot 
any  unknown  person,  not  belonging  to  their  race,  whom  they  may  meet  with  on 
their  territory.  Although  well  aware  of  this  danger,  several  exiles  have  at- 
tempted to  escape  to  Archangel  along  the  border  of  the  Arctic  sea ;  but  they 
either  died  of  hunger,  or  were  devoured  by  wild  beasts,  or  shot  by  the  Ostiaks. 
There  is  but  one  instance  known  of  an  exile  who,  after  spending  a  whole  year 
on  the  journey,  at  length  reached  the  abodes  of  civilized  man,  and  he  was  par- 
doned in  consideration  of  the  dreadful  sufferings  he  had  undergone. 

The  Ostiaks  are  generally  of  a  small  stature,  and  most  of  them  are  dark-com- 
plexioned, with  raven-black  hair  like  the  Samoiedes;  some  of  them,  however 
have  a  fairer  skin  and  light-colored  hair.  They  have  neither  the  oblique  eyes 
nor  the  broad  projecting  cheek-bones  of  the  Mongols  and  Tungus,  but  bear  a 
greater  resemblance  to  the  Finnish,  Samoiede,  and  Turkish  cast  of  countenance. 
They  are  a  good-natured,  indolent,  honest  race ;  and  though  they  are  extremely 
dirty,  yet  their  smoky  huts  are  not  more  filthy  than  those  of  the  Norwegian  or 
Icelandic  fisherman.  As  among  the  Samoiedes,  the  women  are  in  a  veiy  de- 
graded condition,  the  father  always  giving  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  the 
highest  bidder.  The  price  is  very  different,  and  rises  or  falls  according  to  the 
circumstances  of  the  parent ;  for  while  the  rich  man  asks  fifty  reindeer  for  his 
child,  the  poor  fisherman  is  glad  to  part  with  his  daughter  for  a  few  squirrel- 
skins  and  dried  sturgeon. 

Before  taking  leave  of  the  Ostiaks,  we  will  still  tarry  a  moment  at  the  small 
town  of  Obdorsk,  which  may  be  considered  as  the  capital  of  their  country,  and 
entirely  owes  its  existence  to  the  trade  carried  on  between  them  and  the  Rus- 
sians.. Formerly  the  merchants  from  Beresow  and  Tobolsk  used  merely  to  visit 
the  spot,  but  the  difficulties  of  the  journey  soon  compelled  them  to  establish 
permanent  dwelHngs  in  that  dreary  region.  A  certain  number  of  exiles  sei'ves 
to  increase  the  scanty  population,  which  consists  of  a  strange  medley  of  various 
nations,  among  whom  Castren  found  a  Calmuck,  a  Kirghis,  and  a  Polish  cook, 


GJJOLT  OF   Kl  UOU 


THE    OSTIAKS.  .  189 

who  bitterly  complained  that  he  had  but  few  opportunities  of  showing  his  skill 
in  a  town  where  people  lived  d  la  Ostiak.  In  fact,  most  of  the  Russian  in- 
habitants of  the  place  have  in  so  far  adopted  the  Ostiak  mode  of  life,  as  to 
deem  the  cooking  of  their  victuals  superfluous.  When  Castren,  on  his  arrival 
at  Obdorsk,  paid  a  visit  to  a  Tobolsk  merchant,  who  had  been  for  some  time 
settled  in  the  place,  he  found  the  whole  family  lying  on  the  floor,  regaling  on 
raw  fish,  and  the  most  civilized  person  he  met  with  told  him  that  he  had  tasted 
neither  boiled  nor  roast  flesh  or  fish  for  half  a  year.  Yet  fine  shawls  and 
dresses,  and  now  no  doubt  the  crinoline  and  the  chignon,  are  found  amidst  all 
this  barbarism.  Edifices  with  the  least  pretensions  to  architectural  beauty  it 
would  of  course  be  vain  to  look  for  in  Obdorsk.  The  houses  of  the  better  sort 
of  Russian  settlers  are  two-storied,  or  consisting  of  a  ground-floor  and  garrets ; 
but  as  they  are  built  of  wood,  and  are  by  no  means  wind-tight,  the  half-fam- 
ished Ostiaks,  who  have  settled  in  the  town,  are  probably  more  comfortably 
housed  in  their  low  turf-huts  than  the  prosperous  Russian  inhabitants  of 
the  place.  The  latter  make  it  their  chief  occupation  to  cheat  the  Ostiaks  in 
every  possible  way ;  some  of  them,  however,  add  to  this  profitable,  if  ncft 
praiseworthy  occupation,  the  keeping  of  reindeer  herds,  OT  even  of  cows  and 
sheep. 

The  fair  lasts  from  the  beginning  of  winter  to  February,  and  during  this 
time  the  Ostiaks  who  assemble ^t  Obdorsk  pitch  their  bark-tents  about  the 
town.  With  their  arrival  a  new  life  begins  to  stir  in  the  wretched  place. 
Groups  of  the  wild  sons  and  daughters  of  the  tundra,  clothed  in  heavy  skins, 
make  their  appearance,  and  stroll  slowly  through  the  streets,  admiring  the  high 
wooden  houses,  which  to  them  seem  palaces.  But  nothing  is  to  be  seen  of  the 
animation  and  activity  which  usually  characterize  a  fair.  Concealing  some  cost- 
ly fur  under  his  wide  skin  mantle,  the  savage  pays  his  cautious  visit  to  the  trad- 
er, and  makes  his  bargain  amidst  copious  libations  of  brandy.  He  is  well  aware 
that  this  underhand  way  of  dealing  is  detrimental  to  his  interests  ;  that  his  tim- 
orous disposition  shrinks  from  public  sales,  and  frequently  he  is  not  even  in  the 
situation  to  profit  by  competition  ;  for  among  the  thousands  that  flock  to  the 
fair,  there  are  but  very  few  who  do  not  owe  to  the  traders  of  Obdorsk  much^ 
more  than  they  possess,  or  can  ever  hope  to  repay.  Woe  to  the  poor  Ostiak 
whose  creditor  should  find  him  dealing  with  some  other  trader  ! — for  the  seizure 
of  all  his  movable  property,  of  his  tent  and  household  utensils,  would  be  the 
least  punishment  which  the  wretch  turned  adrift  into  the  naked  desert  would 
have  to  expect.  The  fair  is  not  opened  before  Government  has  received  the 
furs  which  are  due  to  it,  or  at  least  a  guarantee  for  the  amount  from  the  mer- 
chants of  the  place.  Then  the  magazines  of  the  traders  gradually  fill  with  furs 
— with  clothes  of  reindeer  skin  ready  made,  with  feathers,  reindeer  flesh,  frozen 
sturgeon,  mammoth  tusks,  etc.  For  these  goods  the  Ostiaks  receive  flour, 
baked  bread,  tobacco,  pots,  kettles,  knives,  needles,  brass  buttons  and  rings,  glass 
pearls,  and  other  trifling  articles.  An  open  trade  in  spirits  is  not  allowed ;  but 
brandy  may  be  sold  as  a  medicine,  and  thus  many  an  Ostiak  takes  advantage  of 
the  fair  for  undergoing  a  cure  the  reverse  of  that  which  is  recommended  by  hy- 
dropathic doctors. 


190  .  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

Towards  the  end  of  February,  when  the  Ostiaks  have  retired  into  the  woods 
— where  tliey  hunt  or  tend  their  reindeer  herds  until  the  opening  of  the  fishing- 
season  recalls  them  to  the  Obi — the  trader  prepares  for  his  journey  to  Irbit, 
where  he  hopes  to  dispose  of  his  furs  at  an  enormous  profit,  and  Obdorsk  is 
once  more  left  until  the  following  winter  to  its  death-like  solitude. 


CONQUEST  OF   SIBERIA  BY  THE  RUSSIANS. 


191 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

CONQUEST  OF  SIBERIA  BY  THE  RUSSIANS-THEIR  VOYAGES  OF  DISCOVERY  ALONG 
THE  SHORES  OF  THE  POLAR  SEA. 

Ivan  the  Terrible.— Strogonoff.—Yermak,  the  Robber  and  Conqueror.— His  Expeditions  to  Siberia.— 
Battle  of  Tobolsk.— Yermak's  Death. — Progress  of  the  Russians  to  Ochotsk.— Semen  Deshnew. — 
Condition  of  the  Siberian  Natives  under  the  Russian  Yoke. — Voyages  of  Discovery  in  the  Reign  of 
the  Empress  Anna. — Prontschischtschew. — Chariton  and  Demetrius  Laptew. — An  Arctic  Heroine. 
— Schalaurow. — Discoveries  in  the  Sea  of  Bering  and  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. — The  Liichow  Islands. — 
Fossil  Ivory.— New  Siberia.— The  wooden  Mountains.— The  past  Ages  of  Siberia. 

IN  the  beginning  of  tlie  thirteenth  century,  the  now  huge  Empire  of  Russia 
was  confined  to  part  of  her  present  European  possessions,  and  divided  into 
several  independent  principalities,  the  scene  of  disunion  and  almost  perpetual 
warfare.  Thus  when  the  country  was  invaded,  in  1236,  by  the  Tartars,  under 
Baaty  Khan,  a  grandson  of  the  famous  Gengis  Khan,  it  fell  an  easy  prey  to  its 
conquerors.  The  miseries  of  a  foreign  yoke,  aggravated  by  intestine  discord, 
lasted  about  250  years,  until  Ivan  Wasiljewitsch  I.  (1462-1505)  became  the 
deliverer  of  his  country,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  her  future  greatness.  This 
able  prince  subdued,  in  1470,  the  Great  Novgorod,  a  city  until  then  so  powerful 
as  to  have  maintained  its  independence,  both  against  the  Russian  grand  princes 
and  the  Tartar  khans  ;  and,  ten  years  Jater,  he  not  only  threw  ofE  the  yoke  of  the 
Khans  of  Khipsack,  but  destroyed  their  empire.  The  conquest  of  Constanti- 
nople by  the  Turks  placed  the  spiritual  diadem  of  the  ancient  Cresars  on  his 


192  THE   POLAR    WORLD. 

head,  and  caused  him,  as  chief  of  the  Greek  orthodox  Church,  to  exchange  his 
old  title  of  Grand  Prince  for  the  more  significant  and  imposing  one  of  Czar. 

His  grandson,  Ivan  Wasiljewitsch  II.,  a  cruel  but  energetic  monarch,  con- 
quered Kasan  in  1552,  and  thus  completely  and  permanently  overthrew  the  do- 
minion of  the  Tartars.  Two  years  later  he  subdued  Astrakhan,  and  planted  the 
Greek  cross  on  the  borders  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  where  until  then  only  the  Cres- 
cent had  been  seen. 

In  spite  of  the  inhuman  cruelty  that  disgraced  his  character,  and  earned  for 
him  the  name  of  Terrible,  Ivan  sought,  like  his  illustrious  successor,  Peter  the 
Great,  to  introduce  the  arts  and  sciences  of  Western  Europe  into  his  barbarous 
realm,  and  to  improve  the  Russian  manufactures  by  encouraging  German  artists 
and  mechanics  to  settle  in  the  country.  It  was  in  his  reign  that  Chancellor  dis- 
covered the  passage  from  England  to  the  White  Sea,  and  Ivan  gladly  seized 
the  opportunity  thus  afforded.  Soon  after  this  the  port  of  Archangel  was  built, 
and  thus  a  new  seat  was  opened  to  civilization  at  the  northern  extremity  of 
Europe. 

After  the  conquest  of  Kasan,  several  Russians  settled  in  that  province ;  among 
others,  a  merchant  of  the  name  of  Strogonoff,  who  established  some  salt-works 
on  the  banks  of  the  Kama,  and  opened  a  trade  \vith  the  natives.  Among  these 
he  noticed  some  strangers,  and  having  heard  that  they  came  from  a  country 
ruled  by  a  Tartar  Khan,  who  resided  in  a  capital  called  Sibir,  he  sent  some  of 
his  people  into  their  land.  These  agents  returned  with  the  finest  sable  skins, 
which  they  had  purchased  for  a  trifling  sum ;  and  Strogonoff,  not  so  covetous 
as  to  wish  to  keep  all  the  advantage  of  his  discovery  to  himself,  immediately  in- 
formed the  Government  of  the  new  trade  he  had  opened.  He  was  rewarded 
with  the  gift  of  considerable  estates  at  the  confluence  of  the  Kama  and  Tschin- 
sova,  and  his  descendants,  the  Counts  Strogonoff,  are,  as  is  well  known,  reckoned 
among  the  richest  of  the  Russian  nobility. 

Soon  after  Ivan  sent  some  troops  to  Siberia,  whose  prince,  Jediger,  acknowl- 
edged his  supremacy,  and  promised  to  pay  him  an  annual  tribute  of  a  thousand 
sable  skins.  But  this  connection  was  not  of  long  duration,  for  a  few  years  after 
Jediger  was  defeated  by  another  Tartar  prince,  named  Kutchum  Khan ;  and 
thus,  after  Russian  influence  had  taken  the  first  step  to  establish  itself  beyond  the 
Ural,  it  once  more  became  doubtful  whether  Northern  Asia  was  to  be  Christian 
or  Mohammedan.     The  question  was  soon  after  decided  by  a  fugitive  robber. 

The  conquests  of  Ivan  on  the  Caspian  Sea  had  called  into  life  a  considerable 
trade  with  Bokhara  and  Persia,  which,  however,  was  greatly  disturbed  by  the 
depredations  of  the  Don  Cossacks,  who  made  it  their  practice  to  plunder  the 
caravans.  But  Ivan,  not  the  man  to  be  trifled  with  by  a  horde  of  freebooters, 
immediately  sent  out  a  body  of  troops  against  the  Don  Cossacks,  who,  not  ven- 
turing to  meet  them,  sought  their  safety  in  flight.  At  the  head  of  the  fugitives, 
whose  number  amounted  to  no  less  than  6000  men,  was  Yermak  Timodajeff, 
a  man  who,  like  Cortez  or  Pizarro,  was  destined  to  lay  a  new  empire  at  the  feet 
of  his  master.  But  while  the  troops  of  the  Czar  Avere  following  his  track,  Yer- 
mak was  not  yet  dreaming  of  future  conquests ;  his  only  aim"  was  to  escape  the 
executioner ;  and  he  considered  himself  extremely  fortunate  when,  leaving  his 


CONQUEST   OF   SIBERIA  BY  THE   RUSSIANS.  193 

pursuers  far  behind,  he  at  length  arrived  on  the  estates  of  Strogonoff.  Here  lie 
was  well  received — better,  no  doubt,  than  if  he  had  come  single-lianded  and  de- 
fenseless ;  and  Strogonoff  having  made  him  acquainted  with  Siberian  affairs, 
he  at  once  resolved  to  try  his  fortunes  on  this  new  scene  of  action.  As  the  tyr- 
anny of  Kutchura  Khan  had  rendered  him  odious  to  his  subjects,  he  hoped  it 
would  be  an  easy  task  to  overthrow  his  power ;  the  prospect  of  a  rich  booty  of 
sable  skins  was  also  extremely  attractive ;  and,  finally,  there  could  be  no  doubt 
that  the  greatest  dangers  were  in  his  rear,  and  that  any  choice  was  better  than 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  Ivan  the  Terrible.  Strogonoff,  on  his  part,  had  excel- 
lent reasons  for  encouraging  the  adventure.  If  it  succeeded,  a  considerable 
part  of  the  profits  was  likely  to  fall  to  his  shai'e ;  if  not,  he  at  least  was  rid  of 
his  unbidden  guest. 

Thus  Yermak,  in  the  summer  of  1578,  advanced  with  his  Cossacks  along  the 
banks  of  the  Tschinsova  into  Siberia.  But,  either  from  a  want  of  knowledge 
of  the  country,  or  from  not  having  taken  the  necessary  precautions,  he  Avas 
overtaken  by  winter  before  he  could  make  any  progress ;  and  when  spring  ap- 
peared, famine  compelled  him  to  return  to  his  old  quarters,  where,  as  may  easi- 
ly be  imagined,  his  reception  was  none  of  the  most  cordial.  But,  far  from  losing 
courage  from  this  first  disappointment,  Yermak  was  firmly  resolved  to  perse- 
vere. He  had  gained  experience — ^his  self-confidence  was  steeled  by  adversity ; 
and  when  Strogonoff  attempted  to  refuse  him  further  assistance,  he  pointed  to 
liis  Cossacks  with  the  air  of  a  man  who  has  the  means  of  enforcing  obedience 
to  his  ordea-s.  This  time  Yermak  took  better  measures  for  insuring  success; 
he  compelled  Strogonoff  to  furnish  him  with  an  ample  supply  of  provisions  and 
ammunition,  and  in  the  June  of  the  following  year  we  again  find  him,  with 
his  faithful  Cossacks,  on  the  march  to  Siberia.  But  such  were  the  impediments 
which  the  pathless  swamps  and  fof ests,  the  severity  of  the  climate,  and  the  hos- 
tility of  the  natives  opposed  to  his  progress,  that  towards  the  end  of  1580  his 
force  (now  reduced  to  1500  men)  had  reached  no  farther  than  the  banks  of  the 
Tara.  The  subsequent  advance  of  this  little  band  was  a  constant  succession 
of  hardships  and  skirmishes,  which  caused  it  to  melt  away  like  snow  in  the 
sunshine ;  so  that  scarcely  500  remained  when,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Tobol 
and  the  Irtysch,  they  at  length  reached  the  camp  of  Kutchum  Khan,  whose  over- 
whelming numbers  seemed  to  mock  their  audacity*. 

But  Yermak  felt  as  little  fear  at  sight  of  the  innumerable  tents  of  the  Tar- 
tar host,  as  the  wolf  when  meeting  a  herd  of  sheep.  He  knew  that  his  Cossacks, 
armed  with  their  matchlocks,  had  long  since  disdained  to  count  their  enemies, 
and,  fully  determined  to  conquer  or  to  die,  he  gave  the  order  to  attack.  A 
dreadful  battle  ensued,  for  though  the  Tartars  only  fought  with  their  bows  and 
arrows,  yet  they  were  no  less  brave  than  their  adversaries,  and  their  vast  supe- 
riority of  numbers  made  up  for  the  inferior  quality  of  their  weapons.  The 
struggle  was  long  doubtful — the  Tartars  repeating  attack  upon  attack  like  the 
waves  of  a  storm-tide,  and  the  Cossacks  receiving  their  assaults  as  firmly  and 
immovably  as  rocks ;  until,  finally,  the  hordes  of  Kutchum  Khan  gave  way  to 
their  stubborn  obstinacy,  and  his  camp  and  all  its  treasures  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  conquerors. 

18 


194  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

The  subsequent  conduct  of  Yermak  proved 'that  he  had  all  tlie  qualities  of 
a  general  and  a  statesman,  and  that  his  talents  were  not  unequal  to  his  fortunes. 
Without  losing  a  single  moment,  he,  immediately  after  this  decisive  battle,  sent 
part  of  his  small  band  to  occupy  the  capital  of  the  vanquished  Kutchum,  for  he 
well  knew  that  a  victory  is  but  half  gained  if  one  delays  to  reap  its  fruits. 
The  Cossacks  found  the  place  evacuated,  and  soon  after  Yermak  made  his  tri- 
umphal entry  into  Sibir.  His  weakness  now  became  a  source  of  strength,  for, 
daunted  by  the  wonderful  success  of  this  handful  of  strangers,  the  people  far 
and  wide  came  to  render  him  homage.  Tlie  Ostiaks  of  the  Soswa  freely  con- 
sented to  yield  an  annual  tribute  of  280  sable  skins,  and  other  tribes  of  the  same 
nation,  who  were  more  backward  in  their  submission,  were  compelled  by  his 
menaces  to  pay  him  a  tax,  or  Jassak,oi  eleven  skins  for  every  archer. 

It  was  not  without  reason  that  Yermak  thus  sought  to  collect  as  many  of 
these  valuable  furs  as  he  .possibly  could,  for  his  aim  was  to  obtain  from  Ivan  a 
pardon  of  his  former  delinquencies,  by  presenting  him  with  the  richest  spoils 
of  his  victories,  and  he  well  knew  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  main-, 
tain  his  conquests  without  further  assistance  from  the  Czai*.  Great  was  Ivan's 
astonishment  when  an  envoy  of  the  fugitive  robber  brought  him  the  welcome 
gift  of  2400  sable  skins,  and  informed  him  that  Yermak  had  added  a  new  prov- 
ince to  his  realm.  He  at  once  comprehended  that  the  hero  who  with  small 
means  had  achieved  such  great  successes,  was  the  fittest  man  to  consolidate  or 
enlarge  his  acquisitions  ;  he  consequently  not  only  pardoned  all  his  former  of- 
fenses, bat  confirmed  him  in  the  dignity  of  governor  and  commander-in-chief 
in  the  countries  which  he  had  subdued.  Thus  Yermak's  envoy,  having  been 
received  with  the  greatest  distinction  at  Moscow,  returned  to  his  fortunate  mas- 
ter with  a  robe  of  honor  which  had  been  worn  by  the  Czar  himself,  and  the 
still  more  welcome  intelligence  that  re-enforcements  were  on  the  march  to  join 
him. 

Meanwhile  Yermak  had  continued  to  advance  into  the  valley  'of  the  Obi  be- 
yond its  confluence  with  the  Irtysch ;  and  when  at  length  his  force  was  aug- 
mented by  the  arrival  of  500  Russians,  he  pursued  his  expeditions  with  increas- 
ing audacity.  On  his  return  from  one  of  these  forays,  he  encamped  on  a  small 
island  in  the  Irtysch.  The  night  was  dark  and  rainy,  and  the  Russians,  fatigued 
by  their  march,  relied  too  mtich  upon  the  badness  of  the  weather  or  the  terror 
of  their  name.  But  Kutchum  Khan,  having  been  informed  by  his  spies  of  their 
want  of  vigilance,  crossed  a  ford  in  the  river,  and  falling  upon  the  unsuspecting 
Russians,  killed  them  all  except  one  single  soldier,  who  brought  the  fatal  intel- 
ligence to  Sibir.  Yermak,  when  he  saw  his  warriors  fall  around  him  like  grass 
before  the  scythe,  without  losing  his  presence  of  mind  for  a  moment,  cut  his 
way  through  the  Tartars,  and  endeavored  to  save  himself  in  a  boat.  But  in 
the  medley  he  fell  into  the  water  and  was  drowned. 

By  the  orders  of  Kutchum,  the  body  of  the  hero  was  exposed  to  every  indig- 
nity which  the  rage  of  a  barbarian  can  think  of ;  but  after  this  first  explosion 
of  impotent  fury,  his  followers,  feeling  ashamed  of  the  ignoble  conduct  of  their 
chief,  buried  his  remains  with  princely  pomp,  and  ascribed  miraculous  powers 
to  the  grave  in  which  they  Avere  deposited.     The  Russians  have  also  erected  a 


CONQUEST   OF   SIBERIA  BY  THE  RUSSIANS.  195 

monument  to  Yerniak  in  the  town  of  Tobolsk,  which  was  built  on  the  very  spot 
where  he  gained  his  first  decisive  victory  over  Kutchum.  It  is  inscribed  with 
the  dates  of  that  memorable  event,  and  of  the  unfortunate  day  when  he  found 
his  death  in  the  floods  of  the  Irtysch.  His  real  monument,  however,  is  all  Sibe- 
ria from  the  Ural  to  the  Pacific;  for  as  long  as  the  Russian  nation  continues 
to  exist,  it  will  remember  the  name  of  Yermak  Timodajeff.  The  value  of  the 
man  became  at  once  apparent  after  his  death,  for  scarcely  had  the  news  of  the 
disaster  arrived,  when  the  Russians  immediately  evacuated  Sibir,  and  left  the 
country.  But  they  well  knew  that  this  retreat  was  to  be  but  temporary,  and 
that  the  present  ebb  of  their  fortunes  would  soon  be  followed  by  a  fresh  tide 
of  success.  After  a  few  years  they  once  more  returned,  as  the  definitive  masters 
of  the  country.  Their  first  settlement  was  Tjumen,  on  the  Tara,  and  before 
the  end  of  1587  Tobolsk  was  founded.  They  had,  indeed,  still  many  a  conflict 
with  the  Woguls  and  Tartars,  but  every  effort  of  the  natives  to  shake  off  the 
yoke  proved  fruitless. 

As  gold  had  been  the  all-powerful  magnet  which  led  the  Spaniards  froniHis- 
paniola  to  Mexico  and  Peru,  so  a  small  fur-bearing  animal  (the  sable)  attracted 
the  Cossacks  farther  and  farther  to  the  east;  and  although  the  possession  of 
fire-arms  gave  them  an  immense  advantage  over  the  wild  inhabitants  of  Sibe- 
ria, yet  it  is  as  astonishing  with  what  trifling  means  they  subdued  whole  nations, 
and  perhaps  history  affords  no  other  example  of  such  a  vast  extent  of  territory 
having  been  conquered  by  so  small  a  number  of  adventurers. 

As  they  advanced,  small  wooden  forts  (or  ostrogs)  were  built  in  suitable 
places,  and  became  in  their  turn  the  starting-posts  for  new  expeditions.  The 
following  dates  give  the  best  proof  of  the  uncommon  rapidity  with  which  the 
tide  of  conquest  rolled  onward  to  the  east.  Tomsk  was  founded  in  1604  ;  and 
the  ostrog  Jeniseisk,  where  the  neighboring  nomads  brought  their  sable  skins 
to  market,  in  1621.  The  snow-shoes  of  the  Tunguse,  which  they  sometimes 
saw  ornamented  with  this  costly  fur,  induced  the  Cossacks  to  follow  their 
hordes,  of  which  many  had  come  from  the  middle  and  inferior  Tunguska,  and 
thus,  in  1630,  Wassiljew  reached  the  banks  of  the  Lena.  In  1636  Jelissei  Busa 
was  commissioned  to  ascend  that  mighty  river,  and  to  impose  J«ssa^■  on  all  the 
natives  of  those  quarters.  He  reached  the  western  mouth  of  the  Lena,  and 
after  navigating  the  sea  for  twenty-four  hours  came  to  the  Olckma,  which  he 
ascended.  In  1639  he  discovered  the  Tana,  on  who^  banks  he  spent  another 
winter;  and  in  1639,  resuming  his  voyage  eastward  by  sea,  he  reached  the 
Tchendoma,  and  wintering  for  two  years  among  the  Jukahirs,  made  them  also 
tributary  to  Russia. 

In  that  same  year  another  party  of  Cossacks  crossed  the  Altai  Mountains, 
aniS,  traversing  forests  and  swamps,  arrived  at  the  coasts  of  the  inhospitable 
Sea  of  Ochotsk ;  while  a  third  expedition  discovered  the  Amoor,  and  built  a 
strong  ostrog,  called  Albasin,  on  its  left  bank.  The  report  soon  spread  that  the 
river  rolled  over  gold-sand,  and  colonists  came  flocking  to  the  spot,  both  to  col- 
lect these  treasures,  and  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  a  milder  climate  and  of  a  more 
fruitful  soil.  But  the  Chinese  destroyed  the  fort  in  1680,  and  carried  the  gar- 
rison prisoners  to  Peking. 


196 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


Albasin  was  soon  after  rebuilt ;  but  as  Russia  at  that  time  had  no  inclina- 
tion to  engage  in  constant  quarrels  with  the  Celestial  Empire  about  the  posses- 
sion of  a  remote  desert,  all  its  pretensions  to  the  Amoor  were  given  up  by  the 
treaty  of  Nertschinsk  (1689).  This  agreement,  however,  like  so  many  others, 
was  doomed  to  last  no  longer  than  it  pleased  the  more  powerful  of  the  con- 
tracting parties  to  keep  it,  and  came  to  nothing  as  soon  as  the  possession  of  the 
Amoor  territory  became  an  object  of  importance,  and  the  increasing  weakness 
of  China  was  no  longer  able  to  dispute  its  possession.  Thus,  when  Count 
Nicholas  Mourawieff  was  appointed  Governor-general  of  Eastern  Siberia  in 
1847,  one  of  his  first  cares  was  to  appropriate  or  annex  the  Amoor.  He  imme- 
diately sent  a  svirveying  expedition  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  where,  in  1851, 
reo-ardless  of  the  remonstrances  of  the  Chinese  Government,  he  ordered  the  sta- 


THE  BEACH   AT  NICOLAYEVSK. 


tions  of  Nicolayevsk  and  Mariinsk  to  be  built;  and  in  1854  he  himself  sailed 
down  the  Amoor,  with  a  numerous  flotilla  of  boats  and  rafts,  for  the  purpose 
of  personally  opening  this  new  channel  of  intercourse  with  the  Pacific.  Other 
expeditions  soon  followed,  and  the  Chinese,  finding  resistance  hopeless,  ceded  to 
Russia  in  the  year  1858,  by  the  treaty  of  Aigun,the  left  bank  of  the  Amoor  as 
far  as  the  influx  of  the  Ussuri,  and  both  its  banks  below  the  latter  river.  Thus 
the  Czar  found  some  consolation  for  the  losses  of  the  Crimean  campaign  in  the 
acquisition  of  a  vast  territory  in  the  distant  East,  whicli,  though  at  present  a 
mere  wilderness,  may  in  time  become  a  flourishing  colony. 

In  1644,  a  few  years  after  the  discovery  of  the  Amoor,  the  Cossack  Michael 
Staduchin  formed  a  winter  establishment  on  the  delta  of  the  Kolyma,  which  has 


CONQUEST   OF   SIBERIA  BY  THE  RUSSIANS. 


ON    THE   AMOOR. 


expanded  into  the  town  of  Nishnei-Kolymsk,  and  afterwards  navigated  the  sea 
eastward  to  Cape  Schelagskoi,  which  may  be  considered  as  the  north-eastern 
cape  of  Siberia. 

In  1648  Semen  Deschnew  sailed  from  the  Kolyma  with  the  intention  of 
reaching  the  Anadyr  by  sea,  and  by  this  remarkable  voyage— which  no  one  else, 
either  before  or  after  him,  has  ever  performed — discovered  and  passed  through 
the  strait,  which  properly  should  bear  his  name,  instead  of  Bering's,  who,  sailing 
from  Kamchatka  northward  in  1728,  did  not  go  beyond  East  Cape,  being  sat- 
isfied with  the  westerly  trending  of  the  cape  beyond  the  promontory.  Some 
of  Deschnew's  companions  subsequently  reached  Kamchatka,  and  were  put  to 
death  by  the  people  of  that  peninsula,  which  was  conquered,  in  1699,  by  Atlas- 
soff,  a  Cossack  officer  who  came  from  Jakutsk. 

After  having  thus  rapidly  glanced  at  the  progress  of  the  Russian  dominion 
from  the  Ural  to  the  Sea  of  Ochotsk,  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  inquire 
whether  the  natives  had  reason  to  bless  the  arrival  of  their  new  masters,  or  to 
curse  the  day  when  they  were  first  made  to  understand  the  meaning  of  the 
word  jassaJc,  or  tribute.     Unfortunately,  history  tells  us   that,  while  the  con- 


198 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


querors  of  Siberia  were  fully  as  bold  and  persevering  as  the  companions  of 
Cortez  and  Pizarro,  they  also  equalled  them  in  avarice  and  cruelty.  Under  their 
iron  yoke  whole  nations,  such  as  the  Schelagi,  Aniujili,  and  Omoki,  melted  away ; 
others,  as  the  Woguls,  Jukahires,  Koriaks,  and  Itiilmenes,  were  reduced  to  a 
scanty  remnant. 

The  history  of  the  subjugation  of  the  Itiilmenes,  or  natives  of  Kamchatka, 
as  described  by  Steller,  may  suffice  to  show  how  the  Cossacks  made  and  how 
they  abused  their  conquests. 

When  Atlassoff,  with  only  sixteen  men,  came  to  the  river  of  Kamchatka, 
the  Itiilmene  chieftain  inquired,  through  a  Koriak  interpreter,  what  they  want- 
ed, and  whence  they  came ;  and  received  for  answer  that  the  powerful  sove- 
reign, to  whom  the  whole  land  belonged,  had  sent  them  to  levy  the  tribute  which 
they  owed  him  as  his  subjects.  The  chieftain  was  naturally  astonished  at  this 
information,  and  offering  the  strangers  a  present  of  costly  furs,  he  requested 
them  to  leave  the  country,  and  not  to  repeat  their  visit.  But  the  Cossacks 
thought  proper  to  remain,  and  built  a  small  wooden  fort,  Verchnei  Ostrog, 
whence  they  fell  on  the  neighboring  villages,  robbing  or  destroying  all  they 
could  lay  hands  upon.  Exaspei-ated  by  these  acts,  the  Itiilmenes  resolved  to 
attack  the  fort ;  but  as  the  wary  Cossacks  had  kept  up  a  friendly  intercourse 
with  some  of  them,  and  had  moreover  ingratiated  themselves  with  the  women, 
the  plans  of  their  enemies  were  always  revealed  to  them  in  proper  time,  and 
led  to  a  still  greater  tyranny.  At  length  the  savages  appeared  before  the  os- 
tro"-  in  such  overwhelming  numbers  that  the  Cossacks  began  to  lose  courage ; 


VILLAGE   ON    THE    AM0014. 


AAvr- 


CONQUEST   OF   SIBERIA  BY  THE  RUSSIANS. 


190 


KOBIAK  YOUKT. 


yet  by  their  superior  tactics  they  finally  managed  to  gain  a  complete  victory, 
and  those  who  escaped  their  bullets  were  either  drowned  or  taken  prisoners, 
and  then  put  to  death  in  the  most  cruel  manner. 

Convinced  that  a  lasting  security  was  impossible  as  long  as  the  natives  re- 
tained their  numbers,  the  Cossacks  lost  no  opportunity  of  goading  them  to  re- 
volt, and  then  butchering  as  many  of  them  as  they  could.  Thus,  in  less  than 
forty  years,  the  Kamchatkans  were  reduced  to  a  twelfth  part  of  their  original 
numbers  ;  and  the  Cossacks,  having  made  a  solitude,  called  it  peace. 

In  former  times  the  nomads  of  the  North  used  freely  to  wander  with  their 
reindeer  herds  over  the  tundra,  .but  after  the  conquest  they  were  loaded  with 
taxes,  and  confined  to  certain  districts.  The  consequence  was  that  their  rein- 
deer gradually  perished,  and  that  a  great  number  of  wandering  herdsmen  were 
now  compelled  to  adopt  a  fisherman's  life — a  change  fatal  to  many. 

It  would,  however,  be  unjust  to  accuse  the  Russian  Government  of  having 
willfully  sought  the  ruin  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  ;  on  the  contrary,  it  has  con- 
stantly endeavored  to  protect  them  against  the  exactions  of  the  Cossacks,  and 
in  order  to  secure  their  existence,  has  even  granted  thena  the  exclusive  posses- 
sion of  the  districts  assigned  to  them.  Thus  the  Ostiaks  and  Samoiedes,  the 
Koriaks  and  the  Jakuts,  have  their  own  land,  their  own  rivers,  forests,  and  tun- 
dri.  But  if  it  is  a  common  saying  in  European  Russia  "  that  heaven  is  high, 
and  the  Czar  distant,"  it  may  easily  be  imagined  that  beyond  the  Ural  the  weak 
indigenous  tribes  found  the  law  but  a  very  inefiicient  barrier  against  the  rapac- 
ity of  their  conquerors. 

Thus,  in  spite  of  the  Government,  the  jassak  was  not  unfrequently  raised, 
under  various  pretenses,  to  six  or  ten  times  its  original  amount ;  and  the  natives 
were,  besides,  obliged  to  bring  the  best  of  their  produce,  from  considerable  dis- 
tances, to  the  ostrog. 


•-^00  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

Xov  couM  tlie  Government  prevent  the  accumulation  of  usurious  debts,  nor 
the  leasing  of  the  best  i^asturages  or  fishing-stations  for  a  trifling  sum  quite  out 
of  proportion  to  their  value ;  so  that  the  natives  no  longer  liad  the  means  of 
feeding  their  herds,  and  sank  deeper  and  deeper  into  poverty. 

And  if  we  consider,  finally,  of  what  elements  Yermak's  band  was  originally 
composed,  we  can  easily  conceive  that,  under  such  masters,  the  lot  of  the  Sibe- 
rian natives  was  by  no  means  to  be  envied. 

The  year  1734  opens  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  Siberian  discoveries. 
Until  then  they  had  been  merely  undertaken  for  purposes  of  traflic ;  bold  Cos- 
sacks and  Promyschlenniki  (or  fur-hunters)  had  gradually  extended  their  ex- 
cursions to  the  Sea  of  Bering ;  but  now,  for  the  first  time,  scientific  expeditions 
were  sent  out,  for  the  more  accurate  investigation  of  the  northern  coasts  of 
Siberia. 

Prontschischtschew,  who  sailed  westward  from  the  Lena  to  circumnavigate 
the  icy  capes  of  Taimurland,  was  accompanied  by  his  youthful  wife,  who  win- 
tered with  him  at  the  Olenek,  in  72°  54'  of  latitude,  and  in  the  following  sum- 
mer took  part  in  his  fruitless  endeavors  to  double  those  most  northerly  points 
of  Asia.  He  died  in  consequence  of  the  fatigues  he  had  to  undergo,  and  a  few 
days  after  she  followed  him  to  the  grave.  A  similar  example  of  female  devo- 
tion is  not  to  be  met  with  in  the  annals  of  Arctic  discovery. 

After  Prontschischtschew's  death,  Lieutenant  Chariton  Laptew  was  ap- 
pointed to  carry  out  the  project  in  which  the  former  had  failed.  Having  been 
repulsed  by  the  drift-ice,  he  was  obliged  to  winter  on  the  Chatanga  (1739-40) ; 
but  renewed  the  attempt  in  the  following  sumnier,  which  however  exposed  him 
to  still  severer  trials.  The  vessel  was  wrecked  in  the  ice  ;  the  crew  reached 
the  shore  with  difficulty,  and  many  of  them  perished  from  fatigue  and  famine 
before  the  rivers  were  sufficiently  frozen  to  enable  the  feeble  survivors  to  return 
to  their  former  winter-station  at  Chatanga.  Notwithstanding  the  hardships 
wTiich  he  and  his  party  had  endured,  Laptew  prosecuted  the  survey  of  the 
promontory  in  the  following  spring. 

Setting  out  with  a  sledge-party  across  the  Tundra  on  April  24,  1741,  he 
reached  Taimur  Lake  on  the  30th  ;  and  following  the  Taimur  River,  as  it  flows 
from  the  lake,  ascertained  its  mouth  to  be  situated  in  lat.  75°  36'  N",  On  Au- 
gust 29  he  safely  returned  to  Jeniseisk,  after  one  of  the  most  difficult  voyages 
ever  performed  by  man.  The  resolution  with  which  he  overcame  difficulties, 
and  his  perseverance  amid  the  severest  distresses,  entitle  him  to  a  high  rank 
among  Arctic  discoverers. 

While  Chariton  Laptew  was  thus  gaining  distinction  in  the  wilds  of  Tai- 
murland, his  brother,  Dimitri  Laptew,  was  busy  extending  geographical  knowl- 
edge to  the  east  of  the  Lena.  He  doubled  the  Sviatoi-noss,  wintered  on  the 
banks  of  the  Indigirka,  surveyed  the  Bear  Islands,  passed  a  second  winter  on 
the  borders  of  the  Kolyma,  and  in  a  fourth  season  extended  his  survey  of  the 
coast  to  the  Baranow  Rock,  which  he  vainly  endeavored  to  double  during  two 
successive  summers.  After  having  passed  seven  years  on  the  coasts  of  the 
Polar  Ocean,  he  returned  to  Jakutsk  in  1743. 


CONQUEST   OF   SIBERIA  BY  THE  RUSSIANS. 


Fourteen  years  later,  Schalaurovv,  a  merchant  of  Jakutsk,  who  sailed  from 
the  Jana  m  a  vessel  built  at  his  own  expense,  at  length  succeeded  in  doubling 
the  Baranow  Rock,  and  proceeded  eastward  as  far  as  Cape  Schelagskoi,  which 
prevented  his  farther  progress.  After  twice  wintering  on  the  dreary  Kolyma, 
he  resolved,  with  admirable  perseverance,  to  make  a  third  attempt,  but  his  crew 
would  no  longer  follow  him.  From  a  second  sea-journey,  which  he  undertook 
in  1764  to  that  cape,  he  did  not  return.  "  His  unfortunate  death  is  the  more  to 
be  lamented,"  says  Wrangell,  "  as  he  sacrificed  his  property  and  life  to  a  disin- 
terested aim,  and  united  intelligence  and  energy  in  a  remarkable  degree."  On 
his  map,  the  whole  coast  from  the  Jana  to  Cape  Schelagskoi  is  marked,  with 
an  accuracy  which  does  him  the  greatest  honor.  In  1785  Billings  and  Sa- 
rytchew  were  equally  unsuccessful  in  the  endeavor  to  sail  round  the  cape 
which  had  defeated  all  Schalaurow's  endeavors ;  nor  has  the  voyage  been  ac- 
complished to  the  present  day. 

As  the  sable  had  gradually  led  the  Russian  fur-hunters  to  Kamchatka,  so 
the  still  more  valuable  sea-otter  gave  the  chief  impulse  to  the  discovery  of 
the  Aleutic  chain  and  the  opposite  con- 
tinent of  America.     When  Atlassow 
and  his  band  arrived  at  Kamchatka  by 
the  end  of   the   seventeenth  century, 
tliey  found  the  sea-otter  abounding  on 
its  coasts ;  but  the  fur-hunters  chased 
it  so^eagerly  that,  before  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  they  had  entire- 
ly extirpated  it  in  that  country.     On 
Bering's   second  voyage  of  discovery 
(1741-42),  it  was  again  found  in  con- 
siderable numbers.     Tschirigowis  said 
to  have  brought  back  900  skins,  and 
on  Bering's   Island  700   sea -otters — 
whose  skins,  according  to  present  pri- 
ces, would  be  worth  about  £20,000 — were  killed  almost  without  trouble, 
facts,  of  course,  encouraged  the  merchants  of  Jakutsk  and  Irkutsk  to  undertake 
new  expeditions. 

Generally,  several  of  them  formed  an  association,  which  fitted  out  some 
hardly  seaworthy  vessel  at  Oohotsk,  whei-e  also  the  captain  and  the  crew,  con- 
sisting of  fur-hunters  ^id  other  adventurers,  were  hired.  The  expenses  of  such 
an  expedition  amounted  to  the  considerable  sum  of  about  30,000  roubles,  as 
pack-horses  had  to  transport  a  great  part  of  the  necessary  outfit  all  the  dis- 
tance from  Jakutsk,  and  the  vessel  generally  remained  four  or  five  years  on  the 
voyage.  Passing  through  one  of  the  Kurile  Straits,  these  expeditions  sailed  at 
first  along  the  east  coast  of  Kamchatka,  bartering  sables  and  sea-otters  for  rein- 
deer skins  and  other  articles  ;  and  as  the  precious  furs  became  more  rai'e,  ven- 
tured out  farther  into  the  Eastern  Ocean.  Thus  Michael  ISTowodsikoff  discovered 
the  Western  Aleuts  in  1745  ;  Paikoff  the  Fox  Islands  in  1759  ;  Adrian  Tolstych 
almost  all  the  islands  of  the  central  group,  which  still  bear  his  name,  in  17G0; 


KAMCHATKA   SABLES 


These 


202  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

Stephen  Glottoff  the  island  of  Kadiak  in  1*763,  and  Krenitzin  the  peninsula  of 
Aljaska  in  1768.  When  we  consider  the  scanty  resources  of  these  Russian 
navigators,  tlie  bad  condition  of  their  miserable  barks,  their  own  imperfect  nau- 
tical knowledge,  and  the  inhospitable  nature  of  the  seas  which  they  traversed, 
we  can  not  but  admire  their  intrepidity. 

In  the  Polar  Sea  there  are  neither  sables  nor  otters,  and  thus  the  islands  ly- 
ing to  the  north  of  Siberia  might  have  remained  unknown  till  the  present  day, 
if  the  search  after  mammoth-teeth  had  not,  in  a  similar  manner,  led  to  their  dis- 
covery. 

In  March,  1770,  while  a  merchant  of  the  name  of  Lachow  was  busy  collect- 
ing fossil  ivory  about  Cape  Sviatoinoss,  he  saw  a  large  herd  of  deer  coming  over 
the  ice  from  the  north.  Resolute  and  courageous,  he  at  once  resolved  to  follow 
their  tracks,  and  after  a  sledge-journey  of  seventy  versts,  he  came  to  an  island, 
and  twenty  versts  farther  reached  a  second  island,  at  which,  owing  to  the  rough- 
ness of  the  ice,  his  excursion  terminated.  He  saw  enough,  however,  of  the  rich- 
ness of  the  two  islands  in  mammoth-teeth,  to  show  him  that  another  visit  would 
be  a  valuable  s^Deculation ;  and  on  making  his  report  to  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment, he  obtained  an  exclusive  privilege  to  dig  for  mammoth-bones  on  the  isl- 
ands which  he  had  discovered,  and  to  which  his  name  had  been  given.  In  the 
summer  of  1773  he  consequently  returned,  and  ascertained  the  existence  of  a 
third  island,  much  larger  than  the  others,  mountainous,  and  having  its  coasts 
covered  with  drift-wood.  He  then  went  back  to  the  first  island,  wintered  there, 
and  returned  to  TJstjansk  in  spring  with  a  valuable  cargo  of  mammoth-tusks. 

There  hardly  exists  a  more  remarkable  article  of  commerce  than  these  re- 
mains of  an  extinct  animal.  In  North  Siberia,  along  the  Obi,  the  Jenissei,  the 
Lena,  and  their  tributaries,  from  lat.  58°  to  70°,  or  along  the  shores  of  the  Polar 
Ocean  as  far  as  the  American  side  of  Bering  Strait,  the  remains  of  a  species  of 
elephant  are  found  imbedded  in  the  frozen  soil,  or  become  exposed,  by  the  an- 
nual thawing  and  crumbling  of  the  river-banks.  Dozens  of  tusks  are  frequently 
found  together,  but  the  most  astonishing  deposit  of  mammoth-bones  occurs  in 
the  Lachow  Islands,  where,  in  some  localities,  they  are  accumulated  in  such 
quantities  as  to  form  the  chief  substance  of  the  soil.  Year  after  year  the  tusk- 
hxmters  work  every  summer  at  the  cliffs,  without  producing  any  sensible  dim- 
inution of  the  stock.  The  solidly-frozen  matrix  in  which  the  bones  lie  thaws 
to  a  certain  extent  annually,  allowing  the  tusks  to  drop  out  or  to  be  quarried. 
In  1821,  20,000  lbs.  of  the  fossil  ivory  were  procured  from  the  island  of  New 
Siberia.  . 

The  ice  in  which  the  mammoth  remains  are  imbedded  sometimes  preserves 
their  entire  bodies,  in  spite  of  the  countless  ages  which  must  have  elapsed  since 
they  walked  on  earth.  In  1799  the  carcass  of  a  mammoth  was  discovered  so 
fresh  that  the  dogs  ate  the  flesh  for  two  summers.  The  skeleton  is  preserved 
at  St.  Petersburg,  and  specimens  of  the  woolly  hair — proving  that  the  climate 
of  Siberia,  though  then  no  doubt  much  milder  than  at  present,  still  required 
the  protection  of  a  warm  and  shaggy  coat— were  presented  to  the  chief  muse- 
ums of  Europe. 

The  remains  of  a  rhinoceros,  very  similar  to  the  Indian  species,  are  likewise 


CONQUEST   OF   SIBERIA  BY  THE  RUSSIANS.  20:^ 

found  in  great  numbers  along  the  shores,  or  on  the  steep  and  sandy  river-banks 
of  Northern  Siberia,  along  with  those  of  fossil  species  of  the  horse,  the  musk- 
ox,  and  the  bison,  which  have  now  totally  forsaken  the  Arctic  wilds. 

The  Archipelago  of  New  Siberia,  situated  to  the  north  of  the  Lachow  Isl- 
ands, was  discovered  by  Sirowatsky  in  1806,  and  since  then  scientifically  ex- 
plored by  Hedenstrom  in  1808,  and  Anjou  in  1823.  These  islands  are  remark- 
able no  less  for  the  numerous  bones  of  horses,  buffaloes,  oxen,  and  sheep  scat- 
tered over  their  desolate  shores,  than  for  the  vast  quantities  of  fossil-wood  im- 
bedded in  their  soil.  The  hills,  which  rise  to  a  considerable  altitude,  consist 
of  horizontal  beds  of  sandstone,  alternating  with  bituminous  beams  or  trunks 
of  trees.  On  ascending  them,  fossilized  charcoal  is  everywhere  met  with,  in- 
crusted  with  an  ash-colored  matter,  which  is  so  hard  that  it  can  scarcely  be 
scraped  off  with  a  knife.  On  the  summit  there  is  a  long  row  of  beams  resem- 
bling the  former,  but  fixed  perpendicularly  in  the  sandstone.  The  ends,  which 
project  from  seven  to  ten  inches,  are  for  the  most  part  broken,  and  the  whole 
has  the  appearance  of  a  ruinous  dike.  Thus  a  robust  forest  vegetation  once 
flourished  where  now  only  hardy  lichens  can  be  seen ;  and  many  herbivorous 
animals  feasted  on  grasses  where  now  the  reindeer  finds  but  a  scanty  supply  of 
moss,  and  the  polar  bear  is  the  sole  lord  of  the  dreary  waste. 


204 


THE   POLAR  WORLD. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

SIBERIA— FUR-TRADE  AND  GOLD-DIGGINGS. 

Siberia.— Its  immense  Extent  and  Capabilities.— The  Exiles.— Mentschilvoff.— Dolgoroiiky.— Miinich.— 
The  Criminals.— The  free  Siberian  Peasant.— Extremes  of  Heat  and  Cold.- Fur-bearing  Animals.— 
The  Sable.— The  Ermine.— The  Siberian  Weasel.— The  Sea-otter.— The  black  Fox.— The  Lynx.— 
The  Squirrel.— The  varying  Hare.— The  Suslik.— Importance  of  the  Fur-trade  for  the  Northern 
Provinces  of  the  Russian  Empire.— The  Gold-diggings  of  Eastern  Siberia.— The  Taiga.— Expenses 
and  Difficulties  of  searching  Expeditions.— Costs  of  Produce,  and  enormous  Profits  of  successful 
Speculators.— Their  senseless  Extravagance.— First  Discovery  of  Gold  in  the  Ural  Mountains.— 
Jakowlew  and  Demidow.— Nishne-Tagilsk. 

SIBERIA  is  at  least  thirty  times  more  extensive  than  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land, but  its  scanty  population  forms  a  miserable  contrast  to  its  enormous 
size.  Containing  scarcely  three  millions  of  inhabitants,  it  is  comparatively 
three  hundred  times  less  peopled  than  the  British  Islands.  This  small  popula- 
tion is,  moreover,  very  unequally  distributed,  consisting  chiefly  of  Russians  and 
Tartars,  who  have  settled  in  the  south  or  in  the  milder  west,  along  the  rivers 
and  the  principal  thoroughfares  which  lead  from  the  territory  of  one  large 
stream  to  the  other.  In  the  northern  and  eastern  districts,  as  far  as  they  are 
occupied,  the  settlements  are  likewise  almost  entirely  confined  to  the  river- 
banks  ;  and  thus  the  greater  part  of  the  enormous  forest-lands,  and  of  the  in- 
terminable timdras,  are  either  entirely  uninhabited  by  man,  or  visited  only  by 
the  huntsman,  the  gold-digger,  or  the  migratory  savage. 

And  yet  Siberia  has  not  been  so  niggardly  treated  by  Nature  as  not  to  be 


SIBERIA— FUR-TRADE   AND   GOLD-DIGGINGS.  20.-) 

able  to  sustain  a  fai-  more  considerable  population.  In  the  south  there  are- 
thousands  of  squ.ire  miles  fit  for  cultivation ;  the  numbers  of  the  herds  and 
flocks  might  be  increased  a  hundred-fold,  and  even  the  climate  would  become 
milder  after  the  labor  of  man  had  subdued  the  chilling  influences  of  the  forest 
and  the  swamp.  But  it  is  easier  to  express  than  to  realize  the  wish  to  see  Si- 
beria more  populous,  for  its  reputation  is  hardly  such  as  to  tempt  the  free  col- 
onists to  settle  within  its  limits  ;  and  thus  the  Russian  Government,  which 
world  willingly  see  its  more  temperate  regions  covered  with  flourishing  towns 
ar  1  villages,  can  only  expect  an  increase  of  population  from  the  slow  growth 
of  time,  aided  by  the  annual  influx  of  the  involuntary  emigrants  which  it  sends 
across  the  Ural  to  the  East. 

Many  a  celebrated  personage  has  already  been  doomed  to  trace  this  mel- 
ancholy path,  particularly  during  the  last  century,  when  the  all-powerful  favor- 
ite of  one  period  was  not  seldom  doomed  to  exile  by  the  next  palace  revolu- 
tion. This  fate  befell,  among  others,  the  famous  Prince  Mentschikoff.  In  a 
covered  cart,  and  in  the  dress  of  a  peasant,  the  confidential  minister  of  Peter 
the  Great,  the  man  who  for  years  had  ruled  the  vast  Russian  Empire,  was  con- 
veyed into  perpetual  banishment.  His  dwelling  was  now  a  simple  hut,  and 
the  spade  of  the  laborer  replaced  the  pen  of  the  statesman.  Domestic  misfor- 
tunes aggravated  his  cruel  lot.  His  wife  died  from  the  fatigues  of  the  jour- 
ney ;  one  of  his  daughters  soon  after  fell  a  victim  to  the  smallpox ;  his  two 
other  children,  who  were  attacked  by  the  same  malady,  recovered.  He  him- 
self died  in  the  year  1729,  and  was  buried  near  his  daughter  at  Beresow,  the 
seat  of  his  exile.  Like  Cardinal  Wolsey,  after  his  fall  he  remembered  God, 
whom  he  had  forgotten  during  the  swelling  tide  of  his  prosperity.  He  con- 
sidered his  punishment  as  a  blessing,  which  showed  him  the  way  to  everlasting 
happiness.  He  built  a  chapel,  assisting  in  its  erection  with  his  own  hands, 
and  after  the  services  gave  instruction  to  the  congregation.  The  inhabitants 
of  Beresow  still  honor  his  memory,  and  revere  him  as  a  saint.  They  were 
confirmed  in  this  belief  by  the  circumstance  that  his  body,  having  been  disin- 
terred in  1821,  was  found  in  a  state  of  perfect  preservation,  after  a  lapse  of 
ninety-two  years. 

One  day,  as  his  daughter  walked  through  the  village,  she  was  accosted  by 
a  peasant  from  the  window  of  a  hut.  This  peasant  was  Prince  Dolgorouky, 
her  father's  enemy — the  man  who  had  caused  his  banishment,  and  was  now,  in 
his  turn,  doomed  to  taste  the  bitterness  of  exile.  Soon  after  the  princess  and 
her  brother  were  pardoned  by  the  Empress  Anna,  and  Dolgorouky  took  pos- 
session of  their  hut.  Young  Mentschikoff  was  finally  reinstated  in  all  the  hon- 
ors and  riches  of  his  father,  and  from  him  descends,  in  a  direct  line,  the  fa- 
mous defender  of  Sebastopol. 

Marshal  Munich,  the  favorite  of  the  Empress  Anna,  was  doomed,  in  his  six- 
tieth year,  to  a  Siberian  exile,  when  Elizabeth  ascended  the  throne.  His  prison 
consisted  of  three  rooms — one  for  his  guards  or  jailers,  the  second  for  their 
kitchen,  the  third  for  his  own  use.  A  wall  twenty  feet  high  prevented  him 
from  enjoying  the  view  even  of  the  sky.  The  man  who  had  once  governed 
Russia  had  but  half  a  rouble  daily  to  spend ;  but  the  love  of  his  wife— who. 


306  THE  POLx\R   WORLD. 

although  fifty-five  years  old,  had  the  coixrage  and  the  self-denial  to  accompany 
him  in  his  banishment — alleviated  the  sorrows  of  his  exile.  The  venerable 
couple  spent  twenty-one  years  in  Siberia,  and  on  their  return  from  exile,  fifty- 
two  children,  grandchildren,  and  great-grandchildren,  were  assembled  to  meet 
them  at  Moscow.  The  revolution  which  placed  Catherine  the  Second  on  the 
throne  had  nearly  once  more  doomed  the  octogenarian  statesman  to  banish- 
ment, but  he  fortunately  Mxn^thered  the  storm,  and  died  as  governor  of  St. 
Petei-sburg. 

In  this  century,  also,  many  an  unfortunate  exile,  guiltless  at  least  of  ignoble 
crimes,  has  been  doomed  to  wander  to  Siberia.  There  many  a  soldier  of  the 
grande  armee  has  ended  his  life ;  there  still  lives  many  a  patriotic  Pole,  ban- 
ished for  having  loved  his  country  "  not  wisely  but  too  well ;"  there  also  the 
conspirators  who  marked  with  so  bloody  an  episode  the  accession  of  Nicholas, 
have  had  time  to  reflect  on  the  dangers  of  plotting  against  the  Czar. 

Most  of  the  Siberian  exiles  are,  however,  common  criminals — such  as  in  our 
country  would  be  hung  or  transported,  or  sentenced  to  the  treadmill :  the  as- 
sassin, the  robber — to  Siberia ;  the  smuggler  on  the  frontier,  whose  free-trade 
principles  injure  the  imperial  exchequer — to  Sibei'ia;  even  the  vagabond  who 
is  caught  roaming,  and  can  give  no  satisfactory  account  of  his  doings  and  in- 
tentions, receives  a  fresh  passport — to  Siberia. 

Thus  the  annual  number  of  the  exiles  amounts  to  about  12,000,  who,  ac- 
cording to  the  gravity  of  their  offenses,  are  sent  farther  and  farther  eastward. 
On  an  average,  every  Aveek  sees  a  transport  of  about  300  of  these  "  unfortu- 
nates," as  they  are  termed  by  popular  compassion,  pass  through  Tobolsk. 
About  one-sixth  are  immediately  pardoned,  and  the  others  sorted.  Murderers 
and  burglars  are  sent  to  the  mines  of  Nertschinsk,  after  having  been  treated  in 
Russia,  before  they  set  out  on  their  travels,  with  fifty  lashes  of  the  knout.  In 
former  times  their  nostrils  used  to  be  torn  off,  a  barbarity  which  is  now  no 
longer  practised. 

According  to  Sir  George  Simpson's  "Narrative  of  a  Journey  Round  the 
World  "  (1847),  Siberia  is  the  best  penitentiary  in  the  world.  Every  exile  who 
is  not  considered  bad  enough  for  the  mines — those  black.abysses,  at  whose  en- 
trance, as  at  that  of  Dante's  hell,  all  hope  must  be  left  behind — receives  a  piece 
of  land,  a.  hut,  a  horse,  two  cows,  the  necessary  agricultural  implements,  and 
provisions  for  a  year.  The  first  three  years  he  has  no  taxes  to  pay,  and,  dur- 
ing the  following  ten,  only  the  half  of  the  usual  assessment.  Thus,  if  he  choose 
to  exert  himself,  he  has  every  reason  to  hope  for  an  improvement  in  his  condi- 
tion, and  at  the  same  time  fear  contributes  to  keep  him  in  the  right  path ;  for 
he  well  knows  that  his  first  trespass  would  infallibly  conduct  Mm  to  the  mines, 
a  by  no  means  agreeable  prospect.  Under  the  influence  of  these  stimulants, 
many  an  exile  attains  a  degree  of  prosperity  Avhich  would  liave  been  quite  be- 
yond his  reach  had  he  remained  in  European  Russia. 

Hofmann  gives  a  less  favorable  account  of  the  Siberian  exiles.  In  his  opin- 
ion, the  prosperity  and  civilization  of  the  country  has  no  greater  obstacle  than 
the  mass  of  criminals  sent  to  swell  its  population.  In  the  province  of  Tomsk, 
which  seems  to  be  richly  stocked  witli  culprits  of  the  worst  description,  all  the 


SIBERIA— FUR-TRADE  AND   GOLD-DIGGINGS. 


207 


wagoners  belong  to  this  class.  They  endeavored  to  excite  his  compassion  by 
Iiypocrisy.  "  It  was  the  will  of  God  !"  is  their  standing  phrase,  to  which  they 
tried  to  give  a  greater  emphasis  by  turning  up  the  whites  of  their  eyes.  But, 
in  spite  of  this  pious  resignation  to  the  Divine  will,  Hofmann  never  met  with  a 
worse  set  of  drunkards,  liars,  and  thieves. 

As  to  the  free  Siberian  peasant,  who  is  generally  of  exile  extraction,  all 


cwm 


Tf:f^r> 


SIBERIAN   PEASANT. 


travellers  are  agreed  in  his  praise.  "  As  soon  as  one  crosses  the  Ural,"  says 
Wrangell,  "  one  is  surprised  by  the  extreme  friendliness  and  good-nature  of 
the  inhabitants,  as  much  as  by  the  rich  vegetation,  the  well-cultivated  fields, 
and  the  excellent  state  of  the  roads  in  the  southern  part  of  the  government  of 
Tobolsk.  Our  luggage  could  be-  left  without  a  guard  in  the  open  air.  '  Ne- 
boss  !'  '  Fear  not !'  was  the  answer  when  we  expressed  some  apprehension ; 


208  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

'  there  are  no  thieves  among  us.'  This  may  appear  strange,  but  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  tlie  Tomsk  wagoners,  described  above,  are  located  far  more  to 
the  east,  and  that  every  exiled  criminal  has  his  prescribed  circuit,  the  bounds 
of  which  he  may  not  pass  without  incurring  the  penalty  of  being  sent  to  the 
mines. 

According  to  Professor  Hansteen,  the  Siberian  peasants  are  the  finest  men 
of  all  Russia,  with  constitutions  of  iron.  With  a  sheepskin  over  their  shirt, 
and  their  thin  linen  trowsers,  they  bid  defiance  to  a  cold  of  30°  and  more.  They 
have  nothing  of  the  dirty  avarice  of  the  European  Russian  boor ;  they  have  as 
much  land  as  they  choose  for  cultivation,  and  the  soil  furnishes  all  they  require 
for  their  nourishment  and  clothing.  Their  cleanliness  is  exemplAry.  Within 
the  last  thirty  years  the  gold-diggings  have  somewhat  spoilt  this  state  of  }v-ira- 
itive  simplicity,  yet  even  Hofmann  allows  that  the  West-Siberian  peasant  has 
retained  much  of  the  honesty  and  hospitality  for  which  he  was  justly  celebrated. 

Besides  agriculture,  mining,  fishing,  and  hunting,  the  carriage  of  merchan- 
dise is  one  of  the  chief  occupations  of  the  Siberians,  and  probably,  in  proi)or- 
tion  to  the  population,  no  other  country  employs  so  large  a  number  of  wagon- 
ers and  carriers.  The  enormous  masses  of  copper,  lead,  iron,  and  silver  pro- 
duced by  the  Altai  and  the  Nertschinsk  mountains,  have  to  be  conveyed  from 
an  immense  distance  to  the  Russian  markets.  The  gold  from  the  East-Siberian 
digghigs  is  indeed  easier  to  transport,  but  the  provisions  required  by  the  thou- 
sands of  workmen  employed  during  the  summer  in  woi-king  the  auriferous 
sands,  have  to  be  brought  to  them,  frequently  from  a  distance  of  many  hundred 
versts. 

The  millions  of  furs,  from  the  squirrel  to  the  bear,  likewise  require  consider- 
able means  of  transport ;  and,  finally,  the  highly  important  caravan-trade  with 
China  conveys  thousands  of  bales  of  tea  from  Kiachta  to  Irbit,  Siberia  has  in- 
deed many  navigable  rivers,  but  a  glance  at  the  map  shows  us  at  once  that  they 
are  so  situated  as  to  afford  far  less  facilities  to  commerce  than  would  be  the 
ease  in  a  more  temperate  climate.  They  all  flow  northward  into  an  inhospita- 
ble sea,  which  is  forever  closed  to  navigation,  and  are  themselves  ice-bound  dur- 
ing the  o-reater  part  of  the  year.  Enormous  distances  separate  them  from  each 
other,  and  there  are  no  navigable  canals  to  unite  them. 

On  some  of  the  larger  rivers  steam-boats  have  indeed  been  introduced,  and 
railroads  are  talked  of;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  for  many  a  year  to 
come,  the  cart  and  the  sledge  will  continue  to  be  the  chief  means  of  transport 
in  a  coimtry  which,^n  consequence  of  its  peculiar  geographical  position,  is  even 
in  its  more  southern  parts  exposed  to  all  the  rigors  of  an  Arctic  winter. 

Thus  at  Jakutsk  (62°  N,  lat,),  which  is  situated  but  six  degrees  farther  to 
the  north  than  Edinburgh  (55°  58'),  the  mean  temperature  of  the  coldest  month 
is  —40°,  and  mercury  a  solid  body  during  one-sixth  part  of  the  year;  while  at 
Irkutsk  (52°  16'  N,  lat.),  situated  but  little  farther  to  the  north  than  Oxford 
(51°  46'),  the  thermometer  frequently  falls  to  —30°,  or  even  —40°  ;  tempera- 
tures Avhich  are  of  course  quite  unheard  of  on  the  banks  of  the  Isis.  For  these 
dreadful  winters  in  the  heart  of  Siberia,  and  under  comparatively  low  degrees 
of  latitude,  there  are  various  causes.     The  land  is,  in  the  first  place,  an  immense 


SIBERIA— FUR-TRADE   AND   GOLD-DIGGINGS. 


209 


plain  slanting  to  the  north ;  moreovei',  it  is  situated  at  such  a  distance  from  the 
Atlantic,  that  beyond  the  Ural  the  western  sea-winds,  which  bring  warmth  to 
our  winters,  assume  the  character  of 
cold  land-winds ;  and,  finally,  it  merges 
in  the  south  into  the  high  Mongoli- 
an plateau,  which,  situated  4000  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  has  of 
course  but  little  warmth  to  impart 
to  it  in  winter ;  so  that,  from  what- 
ever side  the  wind  may  blow  at  that 
season,  it  constantly  conveys  cold. 
But  in  summer  the  scene  undergoes 
a  total  change.  Under  the  influence 
of  the  sun  circling  for  months  round 
the  North  Pole,  floods  of  warmth  are 
poured  into  Central  Siberia,  and  rap- 
idly cause  the  thermometer  to  rise; 
no  neighboring  sea  refreshes  the  air 
with  a  cooling  breeze;  whether  the 
wind  come  from  the  heated  Mongolian 
deserts,  or  sweep  over  the  Siberian 
plains,  it  imbibes  warmth  on  every 
side.  Thus  the  terrible  winter  of  Ja- 
kutsk  is  followed  by  an  equally  im- 
moderate summer  (58°  3'),  so  that  rye 
and  barley  are  able  to  ripen  on  a  soil 
which  a  few  feet  below  the  surface  is 
perpetually  frozen. 

The  boundless  Avoods  of  Siberia 
harbor  a  number  of  fur-bearing  an- 
imals whose  skins  form  one  of  the 
chief  products  of  the  country.  Among 
these  persecuted  denizens  of  the  for- 
est, the  sable  {Martes  zibelUna),  which 
closely  resembles  the  pine -marten 
.{Martts  ahietum)  in  shape  and  size, 
deserves  to  be  particularly  noticed, 
both  for  the  beauty  of  its  pelt,  and  its 
importance  in  the  fur-trade.  Sleeping 
by  day,  the  sable  hunts  his  prey  by 
'  night ;  but  though  he  chiefly  relish- 
es animal  food,  such  as  hares,  young 
birds,  mice,  and  eggs,  he  also  feeds  on 
berries,  and  the  tasteful  seeds  of  the  Pinus  cemhrci.  His  favorite  abode  is  near 
the  banks  of  some  river,  in  holes  of  the  earth,  or  beneath  the  roots  of  trees.  In- 
cessant persecution  has  gradually  driven  him  into  the  most  inaccessible  forests ; 

14 


210  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

the  days  are  no  more  when  the  Tunguse  hunter  willingly  gave  for  a  copper 
kettle  as  many  sable  skins  as  it  would  hold,  or  when  the  Kamchatkan  trapper, 
could  easily  catch  seventy  or  eighty  sables  in  one  winter ;  but  Von  Baer  still  esti- 
mates the  annual  produce  of  all  Siberia  at  45,000  skins.  The  finest  are  caught 
in  the  forests  between  the  Lena  and  the  Eastern  Sea,  but  Kamchatka  furnishes  the 
greater  number.  A  skin  of  the  finest  quality  is  worth  about  forty  roubles  on 
the  spot,  and  at  least  twice  as  much  in  St.  Petersburg  or  Moscow,  particularly 
when  the  hair  is  long,  close,  and  of  a  deep  blackish-brown,  with  a  thick  broWn 
underwool.  Skins  with  long  dark  hair  tipped  with  white  are  highly  esteemed, 
but  still  more  so  those  which  are  entirely  black — a  color  to  which  the  Russians 
o-ive  the  preference,  while  the  Chinese  have  no  objection  to  reddish  tints.  In 
consequence  of  this  difference  of  taste,  the  sables  from  the  Obi,  which  are  gen- 
erally larger  but  of  a  lighter  color,  are  sent  to  Kiachta,  while  the  darker  skins, 
from  Eastern  Siberia,  are  directed  to  St.  Petersburg  and  Leipsic. 

The  chase  of  the  sable  is  attended  with  many  hardships  and  dangers.  The 
skins  are  in  the  highest  perfection  at  the  commencement  of  the  winter ;  accord- 
ingly, towards  the  end  of  October,  the  hunters  assemble  in  small  companies,  and 
proceed  along  the  rivers  in  boats,  or  travel  in  sledges  to  the  place  of  rendez- 

youg taking  with  them  provisions  for  three  or  four  months.     In  the  deep  and 

solitary  forest  they  erect  their  huts,  made  of  branches  of  trees,  and  bank  up  the 
snow  round  them,  as  a  further  protection  against  the  piercing  wind.  They  now 
roam  and  seek  everywhere  for  the  traces  of  the  sable,  and  lay  traps  or  snares 
for  his  destruction.  These  are  generally  pitfalls,  with  loose  boards  placed  over 
them,  baited  with  fish  or  flesh  ;  fire-arms  or  cross-bows  are  more  rarely  used,  as 
they  damage  the  skins.  The  traps  must  be  frequently  visited,  and  even  then 
the  hunter  often  finds  that  a  fox  has  preceded  him,  and  left  but  a  few  worth- 
less remnants  of  the  sable  in  the  snare.  Or  sometimes  a  snow-storm  over- 
takes him,  and  then  his  care  must  be  to  save  his  own  life.  Thus  sable-hunt- 
ing is  a  continual  chain  of  disappointments  and  perils,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
season  it  is  frequently  found  that  the  expenses  are  hardly  paid.  Until  now 
the  sable  has  been  but  rarely  tamed.  One  kept  in  the  palace  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Tobolsk  was  so  perfectly  domesticated,  that  it  was  allowed  to  stroll 
about  the  town  as  it  liked.  It  was  an  arch-enemy  of  cats,  raising  itself  furi- 
ously on  its  hind-legs  as  soon  as  it  saw  one,  and  showing  the  greatest  desn-e 

to  fight  it.  ,-,111 

In  former  times  the  ermine  {3Tustela  erminea)  ranked  next  to  the  sqjjle  as 
the  most  valuable  fur-bearing  animal  of  the  Siberian  woods ;  at  present  the  skni 
is  worth  no  more  than  from  five  to  eight  silver  kopeks  at  Tobolsk,  so  that  the 
whole  produce  of  its  chase  hardly  amounts  to  200,000  roubles.  This  little  ani- 
mal resembles  in  its  general  appearance  the  weasel,  but  is  considerably  larger, 
as  it  attains  a  length  of  from  twelve  to  fourteen  inches.  Its  color,  which  is  red- 
dish-brown in  summer,  becomes  milk-white  during  the  winter  in  the  northern 
reoions,with  the  exception  of  the  tip  of  the  tail,  which  always  remams  black. 
It^iabits  likewise  greatly  resemble  those  of  the  weasel;  it  is  equally  alert  m 
all  its  movements,  and  equally  courageous  in  defending  itself  when  attacked. 
It  lives  on  birds,  poultry,  rats,  rabbitsT^everets,  and  all  kinds  of  smaller  animals, 


SIBERIA— FUR-TRADE   AND    GOLD-DIGGINGS.  211 

and  will  not  hesitate  to  attack  a  prey  of  much  greater  size  than  itself.  Although 
various  species  of  ermine  are  distributed  over  the  whole  forest  region  of  the 
north,  yet  Siberia  produces  the  finest  skins.  The  largest  come  from  the  Kolynia, 
or  are  brought  to  the  fair  of  Ostrownoje  by  the  Tchutchi,  who  obtain  them 
from  the  coldest  regions  of  America, 

The  Siberian  weasel  {Vwer7'a  siberica), which  is  much  smaller  than  the  er- 
mine, is  likewise  hunted  for  its  soft  and  perfectly  snow-white  winter  dress — the 
tip  of  the  tail  not  being  black,  as  in  the  latter. 

The  sea-otter,  or  kalan  {Enhydris  liitris),  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  Rus- 
sian fur-bearing  animals,  as  110  silver  roubles  is  the  average  price  of  a  single 
skin,  is  nearly  related  to  the  weasel  tribe.  The  enormous  value  set  upon  the 
glossy,  jet-black,  soft,  and  thick  fur  of  the  kalan  sufficiently  explains  how  the 
Russian  hunters  have  followed  his  traces  from  Kamchatka  to  America,  and 
almost  entirely  extirpated  him  on  many  of  the  coasts  and  islands  of  Bering's 
Sea  and  the  Northern  Pacific,  where  he  formerly  abounded.  His  habits  very 
much  resemble  those  of  the  seal ;  he  haunts  sea-washed  rocks,  lives  mostly  in 
the  water,  and  loves  to  bask  in  the  sun.  His  hind  feet  have  a  membrane  skirt- 
ing the  outside  of  the  extei-ior  toe,  like  that  of  a  goose,  and  the  elongated  form 
of  his  flexible  body  enables  him  to  swim  with  the  greatest  celerity.  The  love 
of  the  sea-otters  for  their  young  is  so  great  that  they  reckon  their  own  lives  as 
nothing  to  protect  them  from  danger ;  and  Steller,  who  had  more  opportunities 
than  any  other  naturalist  for  observing  their  habits,  affirms  that,  when  deprived 
of  their  offspring,  their  grief  is  so  strong  that  in  less  than  a  fortnight  they  waste 
away  to  skeletons.  On  their  flight  they  carry  their  young  in  their  mouths,  or 
drive  them  along  before  them.  If  they  succeed  in  reaching  the  sea,  they  begin 
to  mock  their  bafiled  pursuer,  and  express  their  joy  by  a  variety  of  antics. 
Sometimes  they  raise  themselves  upright  in  the  water,  rising  and  falling  with 
the  waves,  or  holding  a  fore  paw  over  their  eyes,  as  if  to  look  sharply  at  him ; 
or  they  throw  themselves  on  their  back,  rubbing  their  breast  with  their  fore 
paws  ;  or  cast  their  young  into  the  water,  and  catch  them  again,  like  a  mother 
playing  with  her  infant.  The  sea-otter  not  only  surpasses  the  fish-otter  by  the 
beauty  of  his  fur,  but  also  in  size,  as  he  attains  a  length  of  from  three  to  four 
feet,  exclusive  of  the  tail.  His  food  consists  of  small  fishes,  molluscs,  and  crus- 
taceous  animals,  whose  hard  calcareous  covering  his  broad  grinders  are  Avell 
adapted  to  crush. 

Next  to  the  sea-otter,  the  black  fox,  whose  skin  is  of  a  rich  and  shining 
black  or  deep  brown  color,  with  the  longer  or  exterior  hairs  of  a  silvery-white, 
furnishes  the  most  costly  of  all  the  Siberian  furs.  The  average  price  of  a  sin- 
gle skin  amounts  to  60  or  70  silver  roubles,  and  rich  amateurs  will  willingly 
pay  300  roubles,  or  even  more,  for  those  of  first-rate  quality.  The  skin  of  the 
Siberian  red  fox,  which  ranks  next  in  value,  is  worth  no  more  than  20  roubles ; 
the  steel-gray  winter  dress  of  the  Siberian  crossed  fox  (thus  named  from  the 
black  cross  on  his  shoulders),  from  10  to  12  roubles;  and  that  of  the  Arctic 
fox,  though  very  warm  and  close,  no  more  than  6  or  8. 

The  bear  family  likewise  furnishes  many  skins  to  the  Siberian  furrier.  That 
of  the  young  brown  bear  (  Ursus  arctos)  is  highly  esteemed  for  the  trimming 


212  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

of  pelisses ;  but  that  of  the  older  animal  has  little  value,  and  is  used,  like  that 
of  the  polar  bear,  as  a  rug  or  a  foot-cloth  in  sledges. 

The  lynx  is  highly  prized  for  its  very  thick,  soft,  rust-colored  winter  dress, 
striped  with  darker  brown.  It  attains  the  size  of  the  wolf,  and  is  distinguislied 
from  all  other  members  of  the  cat  tribe,  by  the  pencils  of  long  black  hair  Avhich 
tip  its  erect  and  j^ointed  ears.  It  loves  to  lie  in  ambush  for  the  passing  rem- 
deer  or  elk,  on  some  thick  branch  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  ground. 
With  one  prodigious  bound  it  leaps  upon  the  back  of  its  victim,  strikes  its  tal- 
ons into  its  flesh,  and  opens  with  its  sharp  teeth  the  arteries  of  its  neck. 

Though  singly  of  but  little  value,  as  a  thousand  of  its  skins  are  worth  no 
more  than  one  sea-otter,  the  squirrel  plays  in  reality  a  far  more  important  part 
in  the  Siberian  fur-trade  than  any  of  the  befox'e-mentioned  animals,  as  the  total 
value  of  the  gray  peltry  which  it  furnishes  to  trade  is  at  least  seven  times 
greater  than  that  of  the  sable.  Four  millions  of  gray  squirrel  skins  are,  on  an 
.average,  annually  exported  to  China,  from  two  to  three  millions  to  Europe, 
and  the  home  consumption  of  the  Russian  Empire  is  beyond  all  doubt  still 
more  considerable,  as  it  is  the  fur  most  commonly  used  by  the  middle  classes. 
The  European  squirrels  are  of  inferior  value,  as  the  hair  of  their  winter  dress 
is  still  a  mixture  of  red  and  gray ;  in  the  territory  of  the  Petschora,  the  gray 
first  becomes  predominant,  and  increases  in  beauty  on  advancing  towards  the 
east.  The  squirrels  are  caught  in  snares  or  traps,  or  shot  with  blunted  arrows. 
Among  the  fui'-bearing  animals  of  Siberia,  we  have  further  to  notice  the  A'ary- 
ing  hare,  whose  winter  dress  is  entirely  white,  except  the  tips  of  the  ears, 
which  are  black ;  the  Baikal  hare ;  the  ground-squirrel,  whose  fur  has  fine 
longitudinal  dark-brown  stripes,  alternating  with  four  light-yellow  ones ;  and 
the  suslik,  a  species  of  marmot,  whose  brown  fur,  with  white  spots  and  stripes, 
fetches  a  high  price  in  China.  It  occurs  over  all  Siberia  as  far  as  Kamchatka. 
Its  burrows  are  frequently  nine  feet  deep ;  this,  however,  does  not  prevent  its 
being  dug  out  by  the  hunters,  who  likewise  entrap  it  in  spring  when  it  awakes 
from  its  winter  sleep. 

Summing  together  the  total  amount  of  the  Russian  fur-trade,  Von  Baer  es- 
timates the  value  of  the  skins  annually  brought  to  the  market  by  the  Russian 
American  Fur  Company  at  half  a  miUion  of  silver  roubles,  the  produce  of  Eu- 
ropean Russia  at  a  million  and  a  half,  and  that  of  Siberia  at  three  millions.  As 
agriculture  decreases  on  advancing  to  the  north,  the  chase  of  the  fur-bearing 
animals  increases  in  importance.  Thus,  in  the  most  northern  governments  of 
European  Russia — Wjatka,  Wologda,  Olonez,  and  Archangel — it  is  one  of  the 
chief  occupations  of  the  inhabitants.  In  Olonez  about  four  hundred  bears  are 
killed  every  year,  and  the  immense  forests  of  Wologda  furnish  from  one  hun- 
dred to  two  hundred  black  foxes,  three  hundred  bears,  and  three  millions  of 
squirrels. 

Although  the  sable  and  the  sea-otter  are  not  so  numerous  as  in  former  times, 
yet,  upon  the  Avhole,  the  Russian  fur-trade  is  in  a  very  flourishing  condition  ; 
nor  is  there  any  fear  of  its  decreasing,  as  the  less  valuable  skins — such  as  those 
of  the  squirrels  and  hares,  which  from  their  numbers  weigh  most  heavily  in 
the  balance  of  trade — are  furnished  by  rodents,  which  multii^ly  very  rapidly, 


SIBERIA— FUR-TRADE  AND   GOLD-DIGGINGS.     '  21:3 

and  find  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  food  in  the  forests  and  pasture-grounds  of 
Siberia.^ 

The  chase  of  the  fur-bearing  animals  affords  the  ISTorth-Siberian  nomads- 
such  as  the  Ostiaks,  Jakuts,  Tungusi,  and  Samoiedes— the  only  means  of  pro- 
curing the  foreign  articles  they  require ;  hence  it  taxes  all  their  ingenuity,  and 
takes  up  a  great  deal  of  their  time.  On  the  river-banks  and  in  the  forests 
they  lay  innumerable  snares  and  traps,  all  so  nicely  adapted  to  the  size,  strength, 
and  peculiar  habits  of  the  various  creatures  they  are  intended  to  capture,  that 
it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  improve  them.  An  industrious  Jakut  Avill 
lay  about  five  hundred  various  traps  as  soon  as  the  first  snow  has  fallen  ;  these 
he  visits  about  five  or  six  times  in  the  course  of  the  winter,  and  generally  finds 
some  animal  or  other  in  every  eighth  or  tenth  snare. 

The  produce  of  his  chase  he  brings  to  the  nearest  fair,  where  the  tax-gath- 
erer is  waiting  foV  the  jassak,  which  is  now  generally  paid  in  money  (five  pa- 
per roubles =f our  shillings).  With  the  remainder  of  his  gains  he  purchases 
iron  kettles,  red  cloth  for  hemming  his  garments,  powder  and  shot,  rye-meal, 
glass  pearls,  tobacco,  and  brandy — which,  though  forbidden  to  be  sold  publicly, 
is  richly  suppUed  to  him  in  private  — and  then  retires  to  his  native  wilds. 
From  the  smaller  fairs,  the  furs  are  sent  by  the  Russian  merchants  to  the 
larger  staple  places,  such  as  Jakutsk,  Nertschinsk,  Tobolsk,  Kiachta,  Irbit, 
Nishne-Novgorod,  and  finally  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow ;  for  by  repeatedly 
sorting  and  matching  the  size  and  color  of  the  skins,  their  value  is  increased. 

About  thirty  years  ago  firs  were  still  the  chief  export  article  of  Siberia— to 
China,  European  Russia,  and  Western  Europe— but  since  then  the  discovery 
of  its  rich  auriferous  deposits  has  made  gold  its  most  important  produce.  The 
precious  metal  is  found  on  the  western  slopes  of  the  Ural  chain  and  in  West 
Siberia  ;  but  the  most  productive  diggings  are  situated  in  East  Siberia,  where 
they  give  occupation  to  many  thousands  of  workmen,  and  riches  to  a  few  suc- 
cessful speculators. 

The  vast  territory  drained  by  the  Upper  Jenissei  and  its  tributaries,  the  Su- 
perior and  the  Middle  Tunguska,  consists  for  the  greater  part  of  a  dismal  and 
swampy  primeval  forest,  which  scarcely  thirty  years  since  was  almost  totally 
unknown.  A  few  wretched  nomads  and  fur-hunters  were  the  only  inhabitants 
of  the  Taiga— as  those  sylvan  deserts  are  called — and  squirrel  skins  seemed  all 
they  were  ever  likely  to  produce.  A  journey  through  the  Taiga  is  said  to  be 
one  of  the  most  fatiguing  and  tedious  tours  which  it  is  possible  to  make.  Up- 
hill and  down-hill,  a  narrow  path  leads  over  a  swampy  ground,  into  which  the 
horses  sink  up  to  their  knees.  Thie  rider  is  scarcely  less  harassed  than  the 
patient  animal  which  carries  him  over  this  unstable  soil.  No  bird  enlivens  the 
solitary  forest  with  its  song ;  the  moaning  of  the  wind  in  the  crowns  of  the 
trees  alone  interrupts  the  gloomy  silence.  The  eternal  sameness  of  the  scene 
— day  after  df\y  one  constant  succession  of  everlasting  larches  and  fir-trees— is 
as  wearying  to  the  mind  as  the  almost  impassable  road  to  the  body. 

But  suddenly  the  sound  of  the  axe  or  the  creaking  of  the  water-wheel  is 
heard ;  the  forest  opens,  a  long  row  of  huts  extends  along  the  banks  of  a  riv- 
ulet, and  hundreds  of  workmen  are  seen  moving  about  as  industrious  as  a  hive 


214  "  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

of  bees.  What  is  the  cause  of  all  this  activity — of  this  sudden  change  from  a 
death-like  quiet  to  a  feverish  life  ?  These  are  the  gold-fields  ;  the  sands  of 
these  swampy  grounds  are  mixed,  like  those  of  the  Pactolus,  with  gold,  and 
their  fortunate  possessors  would  not  exchange  them  for  the  finest  meadows, 
cornfields,  or  vineyards. 

Fedor  Popow,  a  hunter  of  the  province  of  Tomsk,  is  said  to  have  been 
the  first  discoverer  of  gold  in  Siberia ;  and  Government  having  granted  per- 
mission to  private  persons  to  search  for  the  precious  metal,  a  few  entei-pi'ising 
men  directed-  their  attention  to  the  wild  spurs  of  the  Sajan  Mountains.  A  bril- 
liant success  rewarded  their  endeavors.  In  the  year  1836  an  exploring-party, 
sent  out  by  a  merchant  named  Jakin  Resanow,  discovered  a  rich  deposit  of 
auriferous  sand  near  the  banks  of  the  Great  Birussa ;  and  in  1839-40,  similar 
deposits  were  found  along  several  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Upper  Tung.uska, 
and  still  farther  to  the  north,  on  the  Oktolyk,  a  rivulet  that  flwws  into  the  Pit. 

The  expenses  of  a  searching-party  amount,  on  an  average,  to  3000  silver 
roubles  (£600) ;  and  as  very  often  no  gold  whatever  is  found,  these  hazardous 
explorations  not  seldom  put  both  the  purse  and  the  perseverance  of  their  under- 
takers to  a  severe  trial.  Thus  Nikita  Maesnikow  had  spent  no  less  than  260,000 
silver  roubles  (£52,000)  in  fruitless  researches,  when  he  at  length  discovered  the 
rich  gold-field  on  the  Peskin,  which,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  amply  remuner- 
ated him  for  his  previous  losses. 

Of  the  difliculties  which  await  the  gold-searchers,  a  faint  idea  may  be  formed, 
on  considering  that  the  whole  of  the  auriferous  region,  which  far  surpasses  in 
size  most  of  the  European  kingdoms,  consists  of  one  vast  forest  like  that  above 
described.  Patches  of  grass-land  on  which  horses  can  feed  are  of  very  rare  oc- 
currence, and  damp  moss  is  the  only  bed  the  Taiga  affords.  As  the  gold-search- 
ers are  very  often  at  work  some  hundreds  of  versts  from  the  nearest  village,  they 
are  obliged  to  carry  all  their  provisions  along  with  them.  Their  clothes  are 
almost  constantly  wet,  from  their  sleeping  in  the  damp  forest,  from  the  frequent 
rains  to  which  they  are  exposed,  and  from  their  toiling  in  the  swampy  ground. 
Scarcely  have  they  dug  a  few  feet  deep  when  the  pit  fills  with  water,  which 
they  are  obliged  to  pump  out  as  fast  as  it  gathers,  and  thus  standing  up  to  their 
knees  in  the  mud,  they  work  on  until  they  reach  the  sohd  rock,  for  then  only 
can  they  be  certain  that  no  auriferous  layer  has  been  neglected  in  their  search. 
When  we  consider,  moreover,  that  all  this  labor  is  vei-y  often  totally  useless, 
their  perseverance  can  not  but  be  admired  ;  nor  is  it  to  be  Avondered  at  that 
exploring-pai-ties  have  sometimes  encamped  on  the  site  of  rich  gold-deposits 
Avithout  examining  the  spot,  their  patience  having  been  exhausted  by  repeated 
failures  in  the  vicinity.  When  the  winter,  with  its  deep  snowfalls,  suddenly 
breaks  in  iipon  the  searchers,  their  hardships  become  dreadful.  The  frost  and 
want  of  food  kill  their  horses,  their  utensils  have  to  be  left  behind ;  and  drag- 
ging their  most  indispensable  provisions  along  with  them  on  small  sledges,  they 
are  not  seldom  obliged  to  wade  for  weeks  through  the  deep  snow  before  they 
reach  some  inhabited  place. 

But  even  the  severity  of  a  Siberian  winter  does  not  prevent  the  sending  out 
of  exploring-parties.     Such  winter  explorations  are  only  fitted  out  for  the  more 


SIBERIA— FUR-TRADE   AND    GOLD-DIGGINGS.  215 

accurate  examination  of  very  swampy  auriferous  grounds  that  have  been  dis- 
covered in  the  previous  ye.ar,  and  Avhere  it  is  less  difficult  to  work  in  the  frozen 
soil  than  to  contend  with  the  water  in  summer.  A  winter-party  travels  witli- 
out  horses,  the  workmen  themselves  transporting  all  that  they  require  on  light 
sledges.  They  are  obliged  to  break  up  the  obdurate  soil  with  pickaxes,  and  the 
sand  thus  loosened  has  to  be  thawed  and  w^ashed  in  warm  water.  After  their 
day's  work,  they  spend  the  night  in  huts  made  of  the  branches  of  trees,  where 
they  sleep  on  the  hard  ground.  It  requires  the  iron  constitution  of  a  Siberian 
to  bear  such  hardships,  to  which  many  fall  a  prey,  in  spite  of  their  vigorous 
health. 

A  gold-deposit  having  been  found,  the  fortunate  discoverer  obtains  the  grant 
of  a  lot  of  ground,  100  sashens  (600  feet)  broad,  and  2500  sashens  (or  5  versts) 
long.  Two  adjoining  lots  are  never  granted  to  the  same  person,  but  a  subse- 
quent purchase  or  amalgamation  is  permitted.  At  first  Government  was  satis- 
fied with  a  moderate  tax  of  15  percent,  of  the  produce;  subsequently, however, 
this  was  doubled,  until  within  the  last  few  years,  when,  the  gold  production 
having  been  found  to  decrease,  the  primitive  impost  was  returned  to,  or  even 
reduced  to  5  per  cent,  for  the  less  productive  mines.  Besides  this  tax,  from  four 
to  eight  gold  roubles  per  pound  of  gold,  according  to  the  richness  of  the  dig- 
gings, have  to  be  paid  for  police  expenses.  Only  a  twelve  years'  lease  is  granted, 
after  which  the  digging  rev-erts  to  the  crown,  and  a  new  lease  has  to  be  pur- 
chased. As  the  severe  cUmate  of  the  Taiga  limits  the  working-time  to  four 
months  (from  May  to  September),  the  period  of  the  concession  is  thus  in  reality 
not  more  than  four  years. 

The  first  care  of  the  lessee  is,  of  course,  to  collect  the  necessary  provisions 
and  working  apparatus.  The  distant  steppe  of  the  Kirghese  furnishes  him 
with  dried  or  salted  meat ;  his  iron  utensils  he  purchases  in  the  factories  of  the 
Ural ;  the  fairs  of  Irbit  and  Nishne-Novgorod  supply  him  with  every  other  arti- 
cle ;  and  rye-meal  and  fishes  he  easily  obtains  from  the  Siberian  peasants  or 
traders.  By  water  and  by  land,  all  these  various  stores  have  to  be  transported 
in  summer  to  the  residence  or  establishment  of  the  gold-digger  on  the  border 
of  the  Taiga.  The  transport  through  the  Taiga  itself  takes  place  during  the 
winter,  on  sledges,  at  a  very  great  cost ;  and  the  expense  is  still  more  increased 
if  time  has  been  lost  through  inattention,  as  then  all  that  may  still  be  wanting 
has  to  be  conveyed  to  the  spot  on  the  backs  of  horses. 

Most  of  the  man  that  are  hired  for  working  in  the  diggings  are  exiles— the 
remainder  generally  free  peasants,  who  have  been  reduced  in  their  circum- 
stances by  misfortunes  or  misconduct.  The  procuring  of  the  necessary  work- 
men is  an  affair  of  no  small  trouble  and  expense.  Before  every  summer  cam- 
paign the  agents  of  the  gold-diggers  travel  about  the  country  like  recruiting- 
sergeants,  and  after  giving  many  fair  words  and  some  hand-money,  they  take 
the  passport  of  the  man  engaged  as  a  security  for  his  appearance.  But  although 
a  passport  is  an  indispensable  document  in  Siberia,  yet  it  not  seldom  happens 
that  the  workman  finds  means  to  obtain  a  new  one  iinder  some  other  name, 
and,  engaging  himself  to  a  new  master,  defrauds  the  first  of  his  hand-money. 

It  may  be  easily  imagined  that,  as  the  workmen  only  consist  of  the  refuse 


216  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

of  society,  the  greatest  discipline  is  necessary  to  keep  them  in  order.  The  sys- 
tem of  a  secret  police,  so  cherished  by  all  arbitrary  governments,  is  hei'e  ex- 
tended to  its  utmost  limits ;  scarcely  has  a  suspicious  word .  fallen  among  the 
workmen,  when  the  director  is  immediately  informed  of  it,  and  takes  his  meas- 
ures accordingly.  Every  man  knoAVS  that  he  is  watched,  and  is  himself  a  spy 
upon  his  companions. 

Hofmann  relates  an  instance  of  a  plot  singularly  nipped  in  the  bud.  In  one 
of  the  gold-diggings  on  the  ISToiba,  the  workmen,  at  the  instigation  of  an  under- 
overseer,  had  refused  to  perform  a  task  assigned  to  them.  It  was  to  be  feared 
that  the  spirit  of  insubordination  would  gain  ground,  and  extend  over  all  the 
neighboring  diggings.  The  director,  consequently,  sent  at  once  for  military  as- 
sistance ;  this,  however,  proved  to  be  unnecessary,  for  when  the  Cossacks  arrived 
at  the  Noiba,  a  thunder-storm  arose,  and  at  the  veiy  moment  they  came  riding 
up  to  the  digging  a  flash  of  lightning  killed  the  ringleader  in  the  midst  of  the 
mutineers.  As  soon  as  the  men  recovered  from  the  first  shock  of  their  surprise 
and  terror,  they  all  exclaimed,  "  This  is  the  judgment  of  God  !"  and,  Avilhout 
any  further  hesitation,  at  once  returned  to  their  duty. 

Besides  free  rations,  the  ordinary  Avages  of  a  common  workman  are  15  rou- 
bles banco,  or  12  shillings  a  month,  but  more  experienced  hands  receive  50  or 
even  60  roubles.  The  pay  dates  from  the  day  when  the  Avorkman  makes  his 
appearance  at  the  residence,  and  thenceforward,  also,  his  rations  are  served  out 
to  him.  They  consist  of  a  pound  of  fresh  or  salt  meat,  or  an  equivalent  portion 
of  fish  on  fasting-days,  cabbage  and  groats  for  soup,  besides  fresh  rye-bread 
and  quas  (the  favorite  national  beverage)  ad  libitum.  The  whole*  number  of 
workmen  employed  in  a  gold-digging  subdivide  themselves  into  separate  socie- 
ties, or  artells.  Each  of  these  elects  a  chief,  or  head-man,  to  whom  the  provis- 
ions for  his  artell  are  weighed  out,  and  to  whom  all  the  other  common  interests 
are  intrusted.  The  sale  of  spirituous  liquor  is  strictly  forbidden,  for  its  use  would 
render  it  impossible  to  maintain  order ;  and,  according  to  law,  no  gin-shop  is 
alloAved  to  be  opened  within  60  versts  of  a  digging. 

The  pay  and  the  liberal  rations  received  would  alone  be  insufficient  to  allure 
workmen  to  the  diggings,  for,  as  we  have  seen,  the  voyage  there  and  back  is 
extremely  irksome,  and  the  labor  very  fatiguing.  An  excellent  plan  has  conse- 
quently been  devised  for  their  encouragement.  The  contract  of  each  workman 
distinctly  specifies  the  quantity  of  his  daily  work,  consisting  of  a  certain  number 
of  wheelbarrows  of  sand — from  100  to  120,  according  to  the  distance  from  the 
spot  where  it  is  dug  to  the  place  where  it  is  washed  out — each  reckoned  at  three 
ponds,*  which  one  party  has  to  fill,  another  to  convey  to  the  wash-stands,  and 
a  third  to  wash. 

The  task  is  generally  completed  by  noon,  or  early  in  the  afternoon.  For  the 
labor  they  perform  during  the  rest  of  the  day,  or  on  Sundays  and  holidays, 
they  receive  an  extra  pay  of  two  or  three  roubles  for  every  solotnik  of  gold 
they  wash.  Every  evening  the  workmen  come  with  the  produce  of  their  free 
labor  to  the  office,  the  gold  is  weighed  in  their  presence,  and  the  artell  credited 
for  the  amount  of  its  share.     This  free-work  is  as  advantageous  for  the  mas- 

*  The  poud  is  equal  to  40  pounds.      The  poud  is  divided  into  96  solotniks. 


SIBERIA— FUR-TRADE  AND   GOLD-DIGGINGS.  217 

ters  as  the  laborers.  The  former  enjoy  a  net  profit  of  eight  or  ten  roubles  per 
solotnik,  and  all  the  working  expenses  are  of  course  put  to  the  charge  of  the 
contract  labor ;  and  the  latter  earn  a  great  deal  of  money,  according  to  their  in- 
dustry or  good-luck,  for  when  fortune  favors  an  artell,  its  share  may  amount  to 
a  considerable  sum.  During  Hofmann's  stay  at  the  Birussa,  each  workman  of 
a  certain  artell  earned  in  one  afternoon  72  roubles,  and  the  Sunday's  work  of 
another  of  these  associations  gave  to  each  of  its  members  105  roubles,  or  £4. 
The  artisans — who,  though  employed  in  a  gold-mine,  are  not  engaged  in  dig- 
ging or  washing  the  auriferous  sand — are  also  rewarded  from  time  to  time 
by  a  day's  free-labor  in  places  Avhich  are  known  to  be  rich.  On  one  of  these 
occasions  a  Cossack  on  the  Oktolyk  received  300  roubles  for  his  share  of  the 
gold  that  was  washed  out  of  49  wheelbarrows  of  sand.  These  of  course  are 
extraordinai-y  cases,  but  they  show  how  much  a  workman  may  gain ;  and  be- 
ing of  course  exaggerated  by  report,  are  the  chief  inducements  Avhich  attract 
the  workmen,  and  keep  them  to  their  duty. 

If  the  free-labor  is  unproductive,  many  of  the  workmen  desert  or  give  up 
free-labor  altogether,  and  in  both  cases  the  master  is  a  loser.  To  prevent  this, 
it  is  customary,  in  many  of  the  diggings,  to  pay  the  workmen  a  fixed  sum  for 
their  extra  work. 

At  the  end  of  the  season  the  workmen  are  paid  off,  and  receive  provisions 
for  their  home-journey.  Generally,  the  produce  of  their  summer's  labor  is 
spent,  in  the  first  villages  they  reach,  in  drinking  and  gambling ;  so  that,  to  be 
able  to  return  to  their  families,  they  ai-e  obliged  to  bind  themselves  anew  for 
the  next  season,  and  to  receive  hand-money  from  the  agent,  who,  knowing  their 
weakness,  is  generally  on  the  spot  to  take  advantage  of  it.  After  spending  a 
long  winter  full  of  want  and  privations,  they  return  to  the  Taiga  in  spring,  and 
thus,  through  their  own  folly,  their  life  is  spent  in  constant  misery  and  hard 
labor. 

During  the  winter  the  digging  is  deserted,  except  by  an  under-overseer  and 
a  few  workmen,  who  make  the  necessary  preparations  for  the  next  campaign, 
receive  and  warehouse  the  provisions  as  they  arrive,  and  guard  the  property 
against  thieves  or  wanton  destruction.  The  upper-overseer  or  director,  mean- 
while, is  fully  occupied  at  the  residence  in  forwarding  the  provisions  and  stores 
that  have  arrived  there  during  the  summer  to  the  mine,  in  making  the  neces- 
sary purchases  for  the  next  year,  in  sending  his  agents  about  the  country  to 
engage  new  workmen ;  and  thus  the  winter  is,  in  fact,  his  busiest  time.  With 
the  last  sledge  transport  he  returns  to  the  digging,  to  receive  the  workmen  as 
they  arrive,  and  to  see  that  all  is  ready  for  the  summer.  As  his  situation  is 
one  of  great  trust  and  responsibility,  he  enjoys  a  considerable  salary.  Maes- 
nikow,  for  instance,  paid  his  chief  director  40,000  roubles  a  year  ;  and  6000  or 
8000  roubles,  besides  free  station,  and  a  percentage  of  the  gold  produced,  is 
the  ordinary  emolument. 

It  is  thus  evident  that  the  expenses  of  a  Siberian  gold-mine  are  enormous, 
but  when  fortune  favors  the  undertaker  he  is  amply  rewarded  for  his  outlay ; 
an  annual  produce  of  10,  15,  or  20  pouds  of  gold  is  by  no  means  uncommon. 
In  the  year  1845,  458  workmen  employed  in  the  gold-mine  of  Maviinsk,  be- 


218  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

longing  to  Messrs.  Golubdow  and  Kusnezow,  produced  81  pouds  19^  lbs.  of 
the  much-coveted  metal;  in  the  year  1843  the  mine  of  Olginsk,  belonging  to 
Lieutenant  Malewinsky,  yielded  82  pouds  37:^  lbs.;  and  in  1844,  the  labor  of 
1014  workmen,  employed  in  the  mine  of  Kresdowosdwishensk,  belonging  to 
Messrs.  Kusnezow  and  Schtschegolow,  produced  no  less  than  87  pouds  14  lbs. 
of  gold.  But  even  Kresdowosdwishensk  has  been  distanced  by  the  mine  of 
Spasky,  situated  near  the  sources  of  the  Peskin,  which,  in  the  year  1842, 
yielded  its  fortunate  possessor,  the  above-mentioned  Counsellor  Nikita  Maes- 
nikow  (one  of  the  few  men  who  were  already  extremely  rich  before  the  Sibe- 
rian auriferous  deposits  were  discovered),  the  aiormous  quantity  of  100  pouds 
of  gold!  From  1840  to  1845,  Maesnikow  extracted  from  this  mine  no  less 
than  348  pouds  6  lbs.  of  gold,  worth  4,135,174  silver  roubles,  or  about  £640,000. 
Still  more  recently,  in  1860,  the  Gawrilow  mine,  belonging  to  the  house  of  Rja- 
sanow,  produced  102-|  pouds  of  pure  gold. 

But  in  Siberia,  as  elsewhere,  mining  operations  are  frequently  doomed  to 
end  hi  disappointment,  particularly'  if  the  space  destined  to  be  worked  in  the 
following  summer  has  not  been  carefully  examined  beforehand,  as  the  ore  is 
often  very  unequally  distributed.  A  speculator,  having  discovered  a  gold-mine, 
examined  four  or  five  samples  of  the  sand,  which  gave  a  highly  satisfactory  re- 
sult. Delighted  with  his  good-fortune,  he  made  his  arrangements  on  a  grand 
scale,  and  collected  provisions  for  500  workmen ;  but  when  operations  began, 
it  was  found  that  he  had,  unfortunately,  hit  upon  a  small  patch  of  auriferous 
sand,  the  vicinity  of  which  Avas  totally  void  of  gold,  so  that  his  500  workmen 
produced  no  more  than  a  few  pounds  of  ore,  and  he  lost  at  least  £10,000  by 
his  adventure. 

The  entire  gold  produce  of  East  Siberia  amoixnted,  in  1845,  to  848  pouds 
36  lbs.,  and  in  1856  to  about  1100  pouds  ;  but  latterly,  in  consequence  of  the 
increasing  wages  and  dearness  of  provisions,  which  has  caused  many  of  the 
less  productive  mines  to  be  abandoned,  it  has  somewhat  diminished.  In  1860, 
31,796  men,  919  women,  and  8751  horses  and  oxen,  were  emj^loyed  in  the  Si- 
berian gold-mines. 

As  may  easily  be  imagined,  the  discovery  of  these  sources  of  wealth  in  the 
desert  has  caused  a  great  revolution  in  the  social  state  of  Siberia.  The  riches 
so  suddenly  acquired  by  a  few  favorites  of  fortune,  have  raised  luxury  to  an 
unexampled  height,  and  encouraged  a  senseless  prodigality.  Some  sterlets^ 
having  been  offered  for  300  roubles  to  a  miner  suddenly  raised  from  penury 
to  wealth,  "  Fool !"  said  the  upstart,  with  the  superb  mien  of  a  conquering 
hero,  to  the  fish-dealer,  "  wilt  thou  sell  me  these  excellent  sterlets  so  cheap  ? 
Here  are  a  thousand  roubles ;  go,  and  say  that  thou  hast  dealt  with  me  P' 

The  small  town  of  Krasnojarsk,  romantically  situated  on  the  Jenissei,  is  the 
chief  seat  of  the  rich  miners.  Here  may  be  seen  the  choicest  toilettes,  the 
most  showy  equipages,  and  champagne  (which  in  Siberia  costs  at  least  £l  a 
bottle)  is  the  daily  beverage  of  the  gold  aristocracy.  Unfortunately,  Krasno- 
jarsk had,  imtil  very  recently,  not  a  single  bookseller's  shop  to  boast  of;  and 

*  A  species  of  sturgeon  highly  esteemed  by  epicures. 


SIBERIA— FUR-TRADE   AND    GOLD-DIGGINGS.  219\ 

while  thousands  were  lavished  on  vanity  and  sensual  enjoyments,  not  a  rouble 
was  devoted  to  the  improvement  of  the  mind. 

Less  rich  in  gold  than  the  province  of  Jeniseisk,  but  richer  in  copper  and 
iron,  and  above  all  in  pla'tina,  is  the  Ural,  v/here  mining  industry  was  first  intro- 
duced by  Peter  the  Great,  in  the  last  years  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  has 
since  acquired  a  colossal  development.  Though  gold  was  discovered  in  the  Ura- 
lian  province  of  Permia  as  early  as  1745,  yet  its  production  on  a  large  scale  is  of 
more  modern  date.  In  the  year  1816  the  whole  quantity  of  gold  furnished  b}- 
the  Ural  amounted  only  to  5  pouds  35  lbs.,  while  in  1834  it  had  increased  to 
405  pouds. 

The  discovery  of  the  precious  metals  on  the  estates  of  the  large  mine-propri- 
etors of  the  Ural,  Avho  already  before  that  time  were  among  the  wealthiest  men 
of  the  empire,  has  increased  their  riches  to  an  enormous  extent,  and  given  a 
European  celebrity  to  the  names  of  Jakowlew  and  Demidoff.  Werch  Issetsk 
and  Werchne  Tagilsk,  in  the  province  of  Permia,  belonging  to  the  Jakowlew 
family,  have  an  extent  of  more  than  three  millions  of  acres,  with  a  population 
of  11,000  souls.  Besides  iron  and  copper,  their  chief  produce,  these  estates 
yielded,  in  1834,  58  pouds  of  gold. 

Nishne-Tagilsk,  belonging,  since  1725,  to  the  Demidoffs,  is  a  still  more  mag- 
nificent possession  ;  for  it  may  truly  be  said,  that  perhaps  nowhere  in  the  Avorld 
are  greater  mineral  riches  congregated  in  one  spot  than  here,  where,  besides 
vast  quantities  of  iron  and  copper,  the  washing  of  the  sands  produced,  in  1834 
no  less  than  29  pouds  of  gold,  and  113  pouds  3  lbs.  of  platina.  The  estate  ex- 
tends over  four  millions  of  acres,  and  its  j)opulation,  in  1834,  amounted  to 
20,000  souls. 

The  town  of  Nishne-Tagilsk  has  about  15,000  inhabitants,  and  Ilelmersen 
("  Travels  in  the  Ural ")  praises  the  Demidoffs  for  their  zeal  in  carrying  the 
civilization  of  Europe  to  the  wilds  of  the  Ural.  In  an  excellent  elementary 
school,  150  boys  are  clothed,  fed,  and  educated  at  their  expense.  Those  pupils 
who  distinguish  themselves  by  their  abilities  are  then  sent  to  a  higher  school, 
such  as  the  Demidoff  Lyceum  in  Jaroslaw,  or  the  University  of  Moscow,  and 
after  the  termination  of  their  studies  obtain  a  situation  on  the  estates  of  the 
family.  The  palace  of  the  Demidoff s  has  a  fine  collection  of  paintings  by  the 
first  Italian  masters ;  but  it  is  seldom  if  ever  inhabited  by  the  proprietors,  who 
prefer  Florence  and  Paris  to  the  Ural.  The  founder  of  the  family  was  an  em- 
inent gunsmith  of  the  town  of  Tula,  whose  abilities  gained  him  the  favor  of 
Peter  the  Great,  and  the  gift  of  the  mines  on  which  the  colossal  fortune  of  his 
descendants  has  been  raised. 


220  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

MIDDENDORFF'S  ADVENTURES  IN  TAIMURLAND. 

For  what  Purpose  was  TMiddendorffs  Voyage  to  Tainiurland  undertaken  ? — Difficulties  and  Obstacles.— 
Expedition  down  the  Taimur  River  to  the  Polar  Sea. — Storm  on  Taimur  Lake.— Loss  of  the  Boat.— 
jNIiddendorff  ill  and  alone  in  75°  N.  Lat.— Saved  by  a  grateful  Samoiede.— Climate  and  Vegetation  of 
Taimurland. 

ON  following  the  contours  of  the  Siberian  coast,  we  find  to  the  east  of  Nova 
Zembla  a  vast  tract  of  territory  projecting  towards  the  Pole,  and  extend- 
ing its  promontories  far  into  the  icy  sea.  This  country — which,  from  its  prin- 
cipal river,  may  be  called  Taimurland — is  the  most  northern,  and,  I  need  hardly 
add,  the  most  inhospitable  part  of  the  Old  World.  The  last  huts  of  the  Rus- 
sian fishermen  are  situated  about  the  mouth  of  the  Jenissei,  but  the  whole  terri- 
tory of  the  Taimur  River,  and  the  regions  traversed  by  the  lower  course  of  the 
Chatanga  and  the  Pasina,  are  completely  uninhabited. 

Even  along  the  upper  course  of  these  two  last-named  rivers,  the  population 
is  exceedingly  scanty  and  scattered  ;  and  the  few  Samoiedes  who  migrate  dur- 
ing the  summer  to  the  banks  of  the  Taimur,  gladly  leave  them  at  the  approach 
of  winter,  the  cold  of  which  no  thermometer  has  ever  measured.  As  may  easi- 
ly be  imagined,  Taimurland  has  but  few  attractions  for  the  trader  or  the  fur- 
hunter,  but  for  the  naturalist  it  is  by  no  means  without  interest. 

We  have  seen  in  a  former  chapter  how  Von  Baer,  prompted  by  the  disinter- 
ested love  of  science,  travelled  to  Nova  Zembla  to  examine  the  productions  of 
a  cold  insular  summer  beyond  the  YOth  degree  of  latitude.  The  instructive  re- 
sults of  his  journey  rendered  it  doubly  desirable  to  obtain  information  about 
the  effects  of  summer  in  a  continental  climate,  situated  if  possible  still  farther 
to  the  north  ;  and  as  no  region  could  be  better  suited  to  this  purpose  than  the 
interior  of  the  broad  mass  of  Taimurland,  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  St.  Peters- 
burg resolved  to  send  thither  a  scientific  expedition.  Fortunately  for  the  suc- 
cess of  the  undertaking,  Von  Middendorff,  the  eminent  naturalist,  whose  offer 
of  service  was  gladly  accepted,  was  in  every  respect  the  right  man  in  the  right 
place  ;  for  to  the  most  untiring  scientific  zeal,  and  an  unwavering  determination, 
he  joined  a  physical  strength  and  a  manual  dexterity  rarely  found  united  wdtli 
learning.  In  the  Lapland  moors  he  had  learned  to  bivouac  for  nights  together, 
while  chasing  the  waterfowl,  and  on  foot  he  was  able  to  tire  the  best-trained 
walrus-hunter.  He  understood  how  to  construct  a  boat,  and  to  steer  it  with  his 
own  hand,  and  every  beast  or  bird  was  doomed  that  came  within  reach  of  his 
unerring  ball.  In  one  M^ord,  no  traveller  ever  plunged  into  the  Arctic  wilds 
more  independent  of  baggage,  followers,  or  the  means  of  transport. 

On  April  4  we  find  Middendorff,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Brandt,  a  Danish  for- 
ester, and  a  single  servant,  on  the  ice  of  tlie  Jenissei  between  Turuchansk  and 


MIDDEKDOKFF'S  ADVENTURES    IN   TAIMUELAND.  221 

Dudino.  Here  his  coinpanions  wei'e  attacked  by  measles ;  but  as  it  was  high 
time  to  reach  the  Chatanga  before  the  melting  of  the  snow,  the  patients  were 
carefully  packed  up  in  boxes  lined  with  skins,  and  the  whole  party — whose  num- 
bers, meanwhile,  had  been  increased  by  the  addition  of  a  topographer  and  of 
three  Cossacks — emerged  from  the  region  of  forests  on  April  13,  having  to  face 
a  cold  of  —36°,  and  a  storm  that  almost  overturned  their  sledges.  With 
Tunguse  guides  they  traversed  the  tundra  in  a  north-easterly  direction  as  far  as 
the  Pasina,  and  thence  passing  on  from  one  Samoiede  hoi'de  to  another,  at  length 
reached  Koronnoie  Filippowskoi  (71°  5'  lat.)  on  the  Boganida,an  affluent  of  the 
Cheta,  which  is  itself  a  tributary  of  the  Chatanga.  Here  a  halt  was  made, 
partly  because  all  the  party  except  Middendorff  were  by  this  time  attacked  with 
the  reigning  epidemic,  and  partly  to  wait  for  the  Samoiedes,  whom  they  intend- 
ed to  join  on  their  summer  migration  to  the  north.  During  this  interval  Mid- 
dendorff made  an  excursion  to  the  Chatanga,  for  the  purpose  of  gathering  in 
formation  about  the  voyage  down  that  river,  and  to  make  the  necessary  prepara- 
tions. In  the  village  of  Chatangsk, however,  he  found  nearly  all  the  inhabitants 
suffering  from  the  measles  ;  and  as  no  assistance  was  to  be  expected  from  them, 
he  resolved  to  alter  his  route,  and  to  proceed  as  soon  as  possible  to  the  River 
Taimur,  which  would  in  all  probability  afford  him  the  best  means  for  penetrat- 
ing to  the  extreme  confines  of  continental  Asia.  As  this  most  northerly  river 
of  the  Old  "World  lies  far  beyond  the  boundaries  of  arboreal  growth,  a  boat-frame 
of  twelve  feet  on  the  keel  had  to  be  made  at  Koronnoie  before  setting  out. 
Brandt  was  left  behind  with  part  of  the  company,  to  make  a  prolonged  series 
of  meteorological  observations,  and  to  gather  as  complete  a  collection  as  possible 
of  the  animals  and  plants  of  the  country,  while  Middendorff  started  on  his  ad- 
venturous tour  (May  19)  with  sixty-eight  reindeer,  under  the  guidance  of  a  few 
Samoiedes  on  their  progress  to  the  north,  and  accompanied  only  by  the  topog- 
rapher, an  interpreter,  and  two  Cossacks.  The  difficulties  of  this  journey,  since 
a  boat-frame,  fuel,  provisions,  physical  instruments,  apparatuses  for  the  preser- 
vation of  objects  of  natural  history,  forming  altogether  a  load  for  many  sledges, 
had  to  be  transported  along  with  the  travellers,  would  have  been  great  at  all 
times,  but  were  now  considerably  increased  by  the  epidemic  having  also  seized 
the  tribe  of  Samoiedes  which  Middendorff  expected  to  find  near  the  small  River 
Nowaia,  and  which  was  to  guide  him  farther  on  to  the  Taimur.  At  length, 
after  a  search  of  three  days,  he  found  the  remnant  of  the  horde,  which  had  been 
decimated  and  reduced  to  a  deplorable  condition  by  the  epidemic.  In  vain  he 
sought  for  the  well-known  faces  of  the  chief  personages  of  the  horde,  with  whom 
he  had  negotiated  on  the  Boganida — "  they  were  all  dead."  Of  thirty-five  per- 
sons, one  only  was  completely  healthy;  a  second  could  hardly  crawl  about ;  but 
the  others  lay  prostrate  in  their  tents,  coughing  and  gi-oaning  under  their  skin 
coverings.  Leaving  seven  corpses  on  the  road,  they  had  advanced  by  slow  jour- 
neys to  join  Middendorff,  until  they  broke  down,  so  that  instead  of  receiving 
aid  at  their  hands,  he  was  now  obliged  to  help  them  in  their  distress — an  assist- 
ance which  they  amply  repaid,  as  Ave  shall  see  in  the  sequel. 

Unfortunately  the  illness  had  prevented  the  Samoiede  women  from  sewing 
together,  as  they  had  promised,  the  skins  that  were  necessary  to  complete  the 


223  THE    POLAR  WORLD. 

covering  of  the  travellers'  tent,  so  tliat  they  had  much  to  suffer  durmg  a  violent 
snow-storm,  which  raged  from  May  27  to  30.  Thus  after  another  long  delay 
and  an  irreparable  loss  of  time,  considering  the  extreme  shortness  of  the  sum- 
mer, Middendorff  Avas  not  able  to  start  from  the  Nowaia  before  May  31.  The 
softening  of  the  snow  rendered  the  advance  of  the  sledges  extremely  difficult, 
so  that  it  was  not  before  June  14  that  he  reached  the  Taimur  at  a  considerable 
distance  above  the  point  where  the  river  discharges  its  waters  into  the  lake. 
Encamping  on  a  steep  declivity  of  its  bank,  Middendorff  now  set  about  build- 
ing his  boat.  On  June  30  the  ice  on  the  river  began  to  break  up,  and  on  July 
5  the  navigation  of  the  stream  was  free.  By  the  light  of  the  midnight  sun  the 
boat  Avas  launched,  and  christened  "  The  Tundra,"  to  commemorate  the  diffi- 
culties of  its  construction  in  the  deserts  of  74°  N.  lat.  Constant  north  winds 
retarded  the  voyage  down  the  river  and  over  the  lake,  beyond  which  the  Taimur, 
traversing  a  hilly  country,  is  inclosed  within  steep  and  picturesque  rocks.  The 
increasing  rapidity  of  the  stream  now  favored  the  travellers,  and  the  storms 
were  less  troublesome  between  the  mighty  rock-Avalls ;  but  unfortunately  Mid- 
dendorff, instead  of  being  able,  as  he  had  expected,  to  fill  his  nets  Avith  fish  as 
he  advanced,  and  to  establish  depots  for  his  return  journey,  found  himself 
obliged  to  consume  the  provisions  he  had  taken  with  him  in  the  boat.  On  Au- 
gust 6  the  first  night-frost  took  place,  and  from  that  time  Avas  regularly  repeat- 
ed. Yet  in  spite  of  these  Avarnings,  Middendorff  continued  his  journey  doAvn 
the  river,  and  reached  the  sea  on  August  24,  in  76°  N.  lat.  But  noAV  it  Avas 
high  time  to  return. 

"  The  fear  of  leaving  my  undertaking  half  unfinished,"  says  Middendorff, 
"  had  hitherto  encouraged  me  to  persevere.  The  great  distance  from  any  hu- 
man habitation,  the  rapid  stream,  against  Avhich  Ave  had  now  to  contend,  and  the 
advanced  season,  with  its  approaching  dark  nights  and  frosts,  made  our  return 
an  imperative  necessity,  and  I  could  have  but  little  reliance  on  our  remaining 
strength.  The  insufficient  food  and  the  fatigues  of  our  journey,  often  prolong- 
ed to  extreme  exhaustion,  had  reduced  our  vigor,  and  Ave  all  began  to  feel  the 
effects  of  our  frequent  Avading  through  cold  Avater,  when,  as  often  happened, 
our  boat  had  grounded  upon  a  shalloAV,  or  when  the  flat  mud-banks  of  the  riv- 
er gave  us  no  other  alternative  for  reaching  the  dry  land.  It  Avas  noAV  also  the 
second  month  since  Ave  had  not  slept  under  a  tent,  having  all  the  time  passed 
the  nights  behind  a  screen  erected  on  the  oars  of  the  boat,  as  a  shelter  against 
tlie  Avind.  Provided  Avith  a  good  load  of  drift-Avood,  collected  on  the  shore  of 
the  Polar  Ocean,  Ave  began  our  return  voyage  on  August  26.  The  borders  of 
the  river  Avere  already  incrusted  Avith  ice.  Wading  became  extremely  irksome, 
the  river  having  meauAvhile  fallen  above  six  feet,  and  the  shallows  frequently- 
forcing  us  to  step  into  the  Avater  and  pull  the  boat  along. 

"  Fortunately  the  Avind  remained  favorable,  and  thus  by  rowing  to  the  utmost 
of  our  strength, and  Avith  the  assistance  of  the  broad  sails  of  our'  Tundra,'  we 
surmounted  two  rapids  Avhich,  encased  betAveen  abrupt  rocks,  seemed  to  defy 
our  utmost  efforts. 

"On  the  31st,  a  malicious  gust  of  Avind,  bursting  out  of  a  narroAv  gorge, 
threw  our  boat  against  the  rocks  and  broke  the  rudder.     The  frost  and  Avet, 


MIDDENDORFF'S  ADVENTURES   IN   TAIMURLAND.  223 

together  Avith  the  shortness  of  our  provisions,  tried  us  sorely.  Not  a  clay  pass- 
ed without  sleet  and  snow. 

"  On  September  5,  while  endeavoring  to  double  during  a  violent  storm  a 
rocky  island  at  the  northern  extremity  of  Lake  Taimur,  one  wave  after  another 
dashed  into  the  boat,  which  I  could  only  save  by  letting  her  run  upon  a  sand- 
bank. The  violent  wind,  with  a  temperature  of  only  +27°  at  noon,  covered 
our  clothes  with  solid  ice-crusts.  We  Avere  obliged  to  halt  four  days  till  the 
storm  ceased ;  our  nets  and  my  double-barrelled  gun  proved  daily  more  and 
more  unsiiccessful,  so  that  hunger  combined  with  cold  to  render  our  situation 
almost  intolerable.  On  the  8th,  while  on  the  lookout  for  ptarmigan,  I  saw 
through  my  telescope  a  long  stripe  of  silver  stretching  over  the  lake,  and,  re- 
turning to  my  comrades,  informed  them  that  we  must  absolutely  set  off  again 
the  next  morning,  regardless  of  wind  and  weather. 

"  On  the  following  day  the  ominous  indications  of  the  telescope  rendered  it 
necessary  to  approach  the  more  open  west  side  of  the  lake ;  which  I  followed 
until  stopped  by  the  ice,  along  whose  borders  I  then  sailed  in  order  to  reach- the 
river,  which  must  still  be  open.  Meanwhile  the  wind  had  completely  fallen,  and, 
to  our  astonishment,  we  saw  the  water  in  our  wake  cover  itself  with  a  thin 
crust  of  ice  as  soon  as  we  passed.  The  danger  of  freezing  fast  in  the  middle 
of  the  lake  was  evident." 

Unfortunately,  while  endeavoring  to  reach  the  river,  the  boat  was  crushed 
between  two  ice  floes,  and  was  with  great  difficulty  dragged  on  shore.  The 
only  chance  of  rescue  now  was  to  meet  with  some  Samoiedes  on  the  upper 
course  of  the  river,  for  these  nomads  never  wander  northward  Jbeyond  the  south- 
ern extremity  of  the  lake,  and  from  this  our  travellers  were  still  at  a  great 
distance. 

"  We  made  a  large  hand-sledge,"  continues  Middendorff,  "  and  set  off  with- 
out loss  of  time  on  the  10th,  in  spite  of  the  rainy  weather,  which  had  complete- 
ly dissolved  the  sparing  snow  upon  the  hills.  The  sharp  stones  cut  into  our 
sledge-runners  like  knives,  and  after  having  scarcely  made  three  versts,  the  ve- 
hicle fell  to  pieces.  The  bad  weather  forced  iis  to  stop  for  the  night.  The  fa- 
tigues of  our  boat-journey,  the  want  of  proper  food,  and  mental  anxiety,  had 
for  several  weeks  been  undermining  my  health  :  a  total  want  of  sleep  destroyed 
the  remainder  of  my  strength,  so  that,  early  on  the  11th,  I  felt  myself  quite 
imable  to  proceed." 

In  this  extremity  Middendorff  adopted  with  heroic  self-denial  the  best  and 
only  means  for  his  own  preservation  and  that  of  his  comrades.  If,  by  depart- 
ing without  loss  of  time,  they  wei-e  fortunate  enough  to  reach  the  Samoiedes 
before  these  nomads  had  left  the  Taimur  country  for  the  south,  he  also  might 
be  rescued ;  if  they  found  them  very  late,  they  at  least  might  expect  to  save 
their  lives ;  if  the  Samoiedes  could  not  be  found,  then  of  course  the  whole  party 
was  doomed.  Thus  Middendorff  resolved  to  separate  at  once  from  his  com- 
rades. A  remnant  of  flesh  extract,  reserved  for  extreme  cases,  was  divided  into 
five  equal  portions ;  the  naturalist's  dog,  the  faithful  companion  of  all  his  pre- 
vious journeys,  was  killed,  though  reduced  to  a  mere  skeleton,  and  his  scanty 
flesh  similarly  distributed  among  the  party.     The  blood  and  a  soup  made  of  the 


234  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

bones  served  for  the  parting  repast.  Thus  of  his  own  free-will,  the  winter  hav- 
ing already  set  in,  Middendorff,  ill  and  exhausted,  remained  quite  alone  in  the 
icy  desert,  behind  a  sheltering  rock,  in  75°  N.  lat.,  several  hundred  versts  from 
all  human  dwellings,  almost  without  fuel,  and  with  a  miserable  supply  of  food. 
The  three  first  days  he  was  still  able  to  move.  He  saw  the  lake  cover  itself  com- 
pletely with  ice,  and  the  last  birds  depart  for  the  south.  Then  his  strength  ut- 
terly failed  him,  and  for  the  next  three  days  he  was  unable  to  stir.  When  he  was 
again  able  to  move,  he  felt  an  excessive  thirst.  He  crawled  to  the  lake,  broke 
the  ice,  and  the  water  refreshed  him.  But  he  Avas  not  yet  free  from  disease,  and 
this  was  fortunate,  as  want  of  appetite  did  not  make  him  feel  the  necessity  of 
food.  Now  followed  a  succession  of  terrible  snow-storms,  which  completely 
imprisoned  the  solitary  traveller,  but  at  the  same  time  afforded  him  a  better 
shelter  against  the  wind. 

"  My  companions,"  he  writes  in  a  letter  to  a  relation,  "  had  now  left  me 
twelve  days ;  human  assistance  could  no  longer  be  expected ;  I  was  convinced 
that  I  had  only  myself  to  rely  upon,  that  I  was  doomed,  and  as  good  as  number- 
ed Avith  the  dead.  And  yet  my  courage  did  not  forsake  me.  Like  our  squir- 
rels, I  turned  myself  according  to  the  changes  of  the  wind.  During  the  long 
sleepless  nights  fancy  opened  her  domains,  and  I  forgot  even  hunger  and  thirst. 
Then  Boreas  broke  roaring  out  of  the  gullies  as  if  he  intended  to  sweep  me 
away  into  the  skies,  and  in  a  short  time  I  was  covered  with  a  comfortable  snow- 
mantle.  Thus  I  lay  three  days,  thinking  of  wretches  who  had  been  immured 
alive,  and  groAvn  mad.  in  their  dreadful  prison.  An  overwhelming  fear  of  in- 
sanity befell  me— it  oppressed  my  heart — it  became  insupportable.  In  vain  I 
attempted  to  cast  it  off— my  weakened  brain  could  grasp  no  other  idea.  And 
now  suddenly— like  a  ray  of  light  from  heaven — the  saving  thought  flashed 
ui^on  me. 

"  My  last  pieces  of  wood  were  quickly  lighted — some  water  was  thawed  and 
warmed — I  poured  into  it  the  spirits  from  a  flask  containing  a  specimen  of  nat- 
ural history,  and  drank.  A  new  Hfe  seemed  to  awaken  in  me :  my  thoughts  re- 
turned again  to  my  family,  to  the  happy  days  I  had  spent  with  the  friends  of 
my  youth.  Soon  I  fell  into  a  profound  sleep— how  long  it  lasted  I  know  not— 
but  on  awakening  I  felt  like  another  man,  and  my  breast  Avas  filled  Avith  grati- 
tude. Appetite  returned  Avith  recovery,  and  I  Avas  reduced  to  eat  leather  and 
birch-bark,  Avhen  a  ptarmigan  fortunately  came  within  reach  of  my  gun.  Hav- 
ing thus  obtained  some  food  for  the  journey,  I  resolved,  although  still  very  fee- 
ble, to  set  out  and  seek  the  provisions  Ave  had  buried.  Packing  some  articles  of 
dress,  my  gun  and  ammunition,  my  journal,  etc.,  on  my  small  hand-sledge,  I  pro- 
ceeded slowly,  and  frequently  resting.  At  noon  I  saw,  on  a  well-known  decliv- 
ity of  the  hills,  three  black  spots  which  I  had  not  previously  noticed,  and  as  they 
changed  their  position,  I  at  once  altered  my  route  to  join  them.  We  approach- 
ed each  other— and,  judge  of  my  delight,  it  Avas  Trischun,the  Samoiede  chief- 
tain, whom  I  had  previously  assisted  in  the  prevailing  epidemic,  and  who  noAv, 
guided  by  one  of  my  companions,  had  set  out  with  three  sledges  to  seek  me. 
Eager  to  serA^ehis  benefactor,  the  grateful  savage  had  made  his  reindeer  wander 
Avithout  food  OA^er  a. space  of  150  versts  where  nomoss  greAA% 


MIDDENDORFF'S  ADVENTURES   IN   TAIMURLAND.  225 

"  I  now  heard  that  my  companions  had  fortunately  reached  the  Samoiedes 
four  days  after  our  separation ;  but  the  dreadful  snow-storms  had  prevented  the 
nomads  from  commg  sooner  to  my  assistance,  and  had  even  forced  them  twice 
to  retrace  their  steps. 

"  On  September  30  the  Samoiedes  brought  me  to  my  tent,  and  on  October 
9  we  bade  the  Taimur  an  eternal  farewell.  After  five  months  we  hailed  with 
delight,  on  October  20,  the  verge  of  the  forest,  and  on  the  following  day  "\ve 
reached  the  smoky  hut  on  the  Boganida,  where  we  had  left  our  friends." 

Having  thus  accompanied  Middendorff  on  his  adventurous  wanderings 
through  Tairauria,  I  will  now  give  a  brief  account  of  his  observations  on  the 
climate  and  natural  productions  of  this  northern  land. 

The  remark  of  Saussure  that  the  difference  of  temperature  between  light  and 
shade  is  greatest  in  summer,  and  in  the  high  latitudes,  was  fully  confirmed  by 
Middendorff.  While  the  thermometer  marked  —37°  in  the  shade,  the  hillsides 
exposed  to  the  sun  were  dripping  with  wet,  and  towards  the  end  of  June,  though 
the  mean  temperature  of  the  air  was  still  below  the  freezing-point  of  water,  the 
snow  had  already  entirely  disappeared  on  the  sunny  side  of  the  Taimur  River. 
Torrents  came  brawling  down  the  hills  ;  the  swollen  rivers  rose  forty  or  sixty 
feet  above  their  winter  level,  and  carried  their  icy  covering  along  with  them  to 
the  sea. 

On  August  3,  in  the  very  middle  of  the  short  Taimurian  summer,  in  74°  15' 
of  latitude,  Middendorff  hunted  butterflies  under  the  shelter  of  a  hill,  bare-foot- 
ed and  in  light  under-clothes.  The  thermometer  rose  in  the  sun  to  -f68°,  and 
close  to  the  ground  to  4-86°,  while  at  a  short  distance  on  a  spot  exposed  to  the 
north-eastern  air-current  it  fell  at  once  to  +27°. 

The  moisture  of  the  air  was  very  remarkable.  In  May  thick  snow-fogs  al- 
most perpetually  obscured  the  atmosphere,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  ascer- 
tain the  position  of  the  sun.  It  appeared  only  in  the  evening,  or  about  midnight, 
and  then  regularly  a  perpendicular  column  of  luminous  whiteness  descended  fi'ora 
its  orb  to  the  earth,  and,  widening  as  it  approached  the  horizon,  took  the  form 
and  the  appearaijce  of  a  colossal  lamp-flame,  such  as  the  latter  appears  when 
seen  through  the  mists  of  a  vapor  bath.  From  the  same  cause  parhelia  and 
halos  were  very  frequent. 

During  the  daytime  the  snow-fogs,  in  perpetual  motion,  either  entirely  veil- 
ed the  nearest  objects,  or  magnified  their  size,  or  exhibited  them  in  a  dancing 
motion.  In  June  the  snow-fog  became  a  vapor-fog,  which  daily  from  time  to 
time  precipitated  its  surplus  of  moisture  in  form  of  a  light  rain,  but  even  then 
the  nights,  particularly  after  eleven  o'clock,  were  mostly  serene. 

Experience  proved,  contrary  to  Arago's  opinion,  that  thunder-storms  take 
place  within  the  Arctic  zone.  The  perpetual  motion  of  the  air  was  very  re- 
markable. The  sun  had  merely  to  disappear  behind  a  cloud  to  produce  at  once 
a  gust  of  wind.  Towards  the  end  of  August,  the  southern  and  the  northern  air- 
currents,  like  two  contending  giants,  began  to  strive  for  the  mastery,  until  finally 
the  storms  raged  with  extreme  violence.  But  in  these  treeless  deserts  their  fury 
iiuds  nothing  to  destroy. 

It  is  impossible  to  form  any  thing  like  a  correct  estimate  of  the  quantity  of 

15 


326  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

snow  which  annually  falls  in  the  highest  latitudes.  So  much  is  certain  that  it 
can  not  be  small,  to  judge  by  the  violence  and  swelling  of  the  rivers  in  spring. 
The  summits  of  the  hills,  and  the  declivities  exposed  to  the  reigning  winds,  are 
constantly  deprived  of  snow,  which,  however,  fills  up  the  bottom  of  the  valleys 
to  a  considerable  height.  Great  was  Middendorff's  astonishment,  while  travel- 
ling over  the  tundra  at  the  end  of  winter,  to  find  it  covered  with  no  more  than 
two  inches,  or  at  the  very  utmost  half  a  foot,  of  snow ;  the  dried  stems  of  the 
Arctic  plants  everywhere  peeping  forth  above  its  surface.  This  was  the  natu- 
ral consequence  of  the  north-easterly  storms,  which,  sweeping  over  the  naked 
plain,  carry  the  snow  along  with  them,  and  form  the  snow- waves,  the  compass  of 
the  northern  nomads. 

It  is  extremely  probable  that,  on  advancing  towards  the  pole,  the  fall  of  snow 
gradually  diminishes,  as  in  the  Alps,  where  its  quantity  likewise  decreases  on 
ascending  above  a  certain  height. 

On  measuring  the  thickness  of  the  ice,  Middendorff  was  very  much  surprised 
to  find  it  nowhere,  both  in  the  lakes  and  on  the  river,  thicker  than  eight  feet,  and 
sometimes  only  four  and  a  half;  its  thickness  being  constantly  proportionate  to 
the  quantity  of  snow  with  vv^hich  it  was  covered.  At  first  he  could  hardly  be- 
lieve that  this  simple  covering  could  afford  so  eflicacious  a  protection  against  the 
extreme  cold  of  winter  in  the  '74th  degree  of  latitude,  but  the  fact  is  w^ell  known 
to  the  Samoiedes,  who,  whenever  they  require  water,  always  make  the  hole 
where  the  snow  lies  deepest. 

The  tundras  of  Taimuria  were  found  to  consist  principally  of  arid  plateaux 
and  undulating  heights,  where  the  vegetation  can  not  conceal  the  boulders  and 
the  sand  of  which  the  crust  of  the  earth  is  formed. 

The  withered  tips  of  the  grasses  scarcely  differ  in  color  from  the  dirty  yel- 
low-brown moss,  and  the  green  of  the  lower  part  of  the  stalks  appears  as  through 
a  veil.  Nothing  can  be  of  a  more  dreary  monotony  than  this  vegetation  when 
spread  over  a  wide  surface;  but  in  the  hardly  perceptible  depressions  of  the 
plains  where  the  spring  water  is  able  to  collect,  a  fresher  green  gains  the  upper 
hand,  the  stalks  are  not  only  longer,  but  stand  closer  together,  and  the  grass, 
growing  to  a  height  of  three -or  even  four  inches,  usurps  the  place  of  the  moss. 
Here  and  there  small  patches  of  Dnjas  octopetala,  or  Cassiope  tetragona,  and 
much  more  rarely  a  dwarf  ranunculus,  diversify  the  dingy  carpet,  yet  without 
being  able  to  relieve  its  wearisome  character.  But  very  different,  and  indeed 
truly  surprising,  is  the  aspect  of  the  slopes  which,  facing  the  Taimur  lake  or 
river,  are  protected  against  the  late  and  early  frosts.  Here  considerable  patches 
of  ground  are  covered  with  a  lively  green,  intermingled  with  gayly-colored  flow- 
ers, such  as  the  brilliant  yellow  Sieversia,  the  elegant  Oxytropis,  the  blue  and 
white  Saxif ragas,  the  red  Armeria  alpina,  and  a  beautiful  new  species  of  Del- 
phinium. All  these  various  flowers  are  not  dwarfs  of  stunted  growth,  for  Pole- 
mones,  Sisymbrias,  Polygonums,  and  Papavers  above  a  foot  high  decorate  the 
slopes,  and  Middendorff  found  an  islet  in  the  Taimur  covered  like  a  field  with  a 
Senecio,  of  which  some  of  the  most  conspicuous  specimens  were  more  than  a  foot 
and  a  half  high,  and  bore  no  less  than  forty  flowers  above  an  inch  in  diameter. 

The  progress  of  vegetation  is  uncommonly  rapid,  so  that,  as  IMiddendorff  re- 


mDDENDORFF'S   ADVENTURES    IN   TAIMURL.XJND.  237 

marks,  if  any  one  wishes  to  see  the  grass  grow,  he  must  travel  to  the  Taimur. 
Scarcely  do  the  first  leaves  peep  forth  when  the  blossoms  also  appear,  as  if,  con- 
scious of  the  early  approach  of  autumn,  they  felt  the  necessity  of  bringing  their 
seeds  to  a  rapid  maturity  under  this  wintry  sky. 

With  regard  to  the  animal  creation,  the  general  law  of  polar  uniformity  was 
fully  confirmed  in  Taimurland.  The  same  lemmings  were  found  which  peo- 
ple the  whole  north  of  Asia  and  America,  and  as  high  as  75°  N.  lat.  they  found 
the  traces  of  the  snow-hare,  which  inhabits  the  complete  circle  of  the  Arctic  re- 
gions of  the  globe.  The  Arctic  fox,  everywhere  at  home  in  the  treeless  wastes, 
is  here  also  pursued  by  the  northern  glutton;  and  following  the  herds  of  the 
reindeer,  the  wolves,  and  the  Samoiedes,  roams  up  and  down  the  tundra.  The 
ptarmigan,  which  in  Scandinavia  and  on  Melville  Island  feeds  on  berries  and 
buds,  appears  also  as  a  summer  visitor  at  the  mouth  of  the  Taimur  in  75°  4'  N. 
lat.,  and  the  ivory  gull  of  the  northern  European  seas  likewise  builds  its  nest 
on  the  rocks  of  that  distant  shore. 

The  more  vigorous  vegetation  on  the  sheltered  declivities  of  the  Taimur  pro- 
vides food  for  a  comparatively  greater  number  of  insects  than  is  found  on  the 
coasts  of  Nova  Zembla.  Bees,  hornets,  and  three  different  species  of  butterflies, 
buzzed  or  hovered  round  the  flowers,  and  caterpillars  could  be  gathered  by 
dozens  on  the  tundra,  but  their  mortal  enemies  had  pursued  them  even  here ; 
and  ichneumon  flies  crept  out  of  most  of  them.  Two  spiders,  several  flies, 
gnats,  and  tipulae,  a  curculio,  and  half  a  dozen  carabi  completed  Middendorff's 
entomological  list,  to  which,  no  doubt,  further  researches  would  have  consid- 
erably added. 

Thus,  at  the  northern  extremity  of  Asia,  as  in  every  other  part  of  the  world, 
the  naturalist  finds  the  confirmation  of  the  general  law  that,  where  the  means 
of  life  are  given,  life  is  sure  to  come  forth. 


228  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  JAKUTS. 

Their  energetic  Nationality.— Tlieir  Descent.— Tlieir  gloomy  Cliaracter.— Summer  and  Winter  Dwell- 
ings.—The  Jakut  Horse.— Incredible  Powers  of  Endurance  of  the  Jakuts.— Their  Sharpness  of  Vis- 
ion.—Surprising  local  Memory.— Their  manual  Dexterity.— Leather,  Poniards,  Carpets.— Jakut 
Gluttons.— Superstitious  Fear  of  the  Mountain-spirit  Ljeschei.— Offerings  of  Horse-hair. —Improvised 
Songs. — The  River  Jakut. 

THE  Jakuts  are  a  remarkably  energetic  race,  for  tliougli  subject  to  the  Mus- 
covite yoke,  they  not  only  successfully  maintain  their  language  and  man- 
ners, but  even  impose  their  own  tongue  and  customs  upon  the  Russians  who 
have  settled  in  their  country.  Thus  in  Jakutsk,  or  the  "  capital  of  the  Jakuts," 
as  with  not  a  little  of  national  pride  and  self-complacency  they  style  that  dreary 
city,  their  language  is  much  more  frequently  spoken  than  the  Russian,  for  al- 
most all  the  artisans  are  Jakuts,  and  even  the  rich  fur-merchant  has  not  seldom 
a  Jakut  wife,  as  no  Russian  now  disdains  an  alliance  Avith  one  of  that  nation. 

At  Amginskoie,  an  originally  Russian  settlement,  Middendorff  found  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  procuring  a  guide  able  to  speak  the  Russian  language,  and 
all  the  Tunguse  whom  he  met  with  between  Jakutsk  and  Ochotsk  understood 
and  spoke  Jakut,  which  is  thus  the  dominant  language  from  the  basin  of  the 
Lena  to  the  extreme  eastern  confines  of  Siberia.  In  trutlj,  no  Russian  workman 
can  compete  Avith  the  Jakuts,  whose  cunning  and  effrontery  would  make  it  diffi- 
cult even  for  a  Jew  to  prosper  among  them. 

Though  of  a  Mongolian  physiognomy,  their  language,  which  is  said  to  be 
intelligible  at  Constantinople,  distinctly  points  to  a  Turk  extraction,  and  their 
traditions  speak  of  their  original  seats  as  situated  on  the  Baikal  and  Angora, 
whence,  retreating  before  more  powerful  hordes,  they  advanced  to  the  Lena, 
where  in  their  turn  they  dispossessed  the  weaker  tribes  which  they  found  in 
possession  of  the  country.  At  present  their  chief  abode  is  along  the  banks  of 
that  immense  river,  which  they  occupy  at  least  as  far  southward  as  the  Aldan. 
Eastward  they  are  found  on  the  Kolyma,  and  w^estward  as  far  as  the  Jenissei. 
Their  total  number  amounts  to  about  200,000,  and  they  form  the  chief  part  of 
the  population  of  the  vast  but  almost  desert  province  of  Jakutsk. 

They  are  essentially  a  pastoral  people,  and  their  chief  wealth  consists  in 
horses  and  cattle,  though  the  northern  portion  of  their  nation  is  reduced  to  the 
reindeer  and  the  dog.  Besides  the  breeding  of  horses,  the  Russian  fur-trade 
has  developed  an  industrial  form  of  the  hunter's  state,  so  that  among  the 
Jakuts  property  accumulates,  and  we  have  a  higher  civilization  than  will  be 
found  elsewhere  in  the  same  latitude,  Iceland,  Finland,  and  Norway  alone  ex- 
cepted. Of  an  unsocial  and  reserved  disposition,  they  prefer  a  solitary  settle- 
ment, but  at  the  same  time  they  are  very  hospitable,  and  give  the  stranger  who 


THE   JAKUTS. 


229 


claims  their  assistance  a  friendly  welcome.  Villages  consisting  of  several  huts, 
or  yourts,  are  rare,  and  found  only  between  Jakutsk  and  the  Aldan,  where  the 
population  is  somewhat  denser.  Beyond  tlie  Werchojansk  ridge  the  solitary 
huts  are  frequently  several  hundred  versts  apart,  so  that  the  nearest  neighbors 
sometimes  do  not  see  each  other  for  years. 

In  summer  the  Jakut  herdsmen  live  in  tirossy,  light  conical  tents  fixed  on 
poles  and  covered  with  birch  rind,  and  during  the  whole  season  they  are  per- 
petually employed  in  making  hay  for  the  long  winter. 

In  62°  N.  lat.,  and  in  a  climate  of  an  almost  unparalleled  severity,  the  rearing 
of  their  cattle  causes  them  far  more  trouble  than  is  the  case  with  any  other  pas- 
toral people.  Their  supply  of  hay  is  frequently  exhausted  before  the  end  of 
the  winter,  and  from  March  to  May  their  oxen  must  generally  be  content  with 
willow  and  birch  twigs  or  saplings. 


a'T   VILLAGE. 


At  the  beginning  of  the  cold  season  the  Jackut  exchanges  his  summer  tent 
for  his  warm  winter  residence,  or  yourt,  a  hut  built  of  beams  or  logs,  in  the 
form  of  a  truncated  pyramid,  and  thickly  covered  with  turf  and  clay.  Plates 
of  ice  serve  as  windows,  and  are  replaced  by  fish-bladders  or  paper  steeped  in 
oil,  as  soon  as  the  thaw  begins.  The  earthen  floor,  for  it  is  but  rarely  boarded, 
is  generally  sunk  two  or  three  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  seats 
and  sleeping  berths  are  ranged  along  the  sides,  and  the  centre  is  occupied  by 
the  tschmml,  or  hearth,  the  smoke  of  which  finds  its  exit  through  an  aperture  in 
the  roof.     Clothes  and  arms  are  suspended  from  the  walls,  and  the  whole  premi- 


330  THE  POLAR  WOELD. 

ses  exhibit  a  sad  picture  of  disorder  and  filth.  Near  the  yourt  are  stables  for 
the  cows,  but  when  the  cold  is  very  severe,  these  useful  animals  are  received 
into  the  family  room.  As  for  the  horses,  they  remain  night  and  day  without 
a  shelter,  at  a  temperature  when  mercury  freezes,  and  are  obliged  to  feed  on 
the  withered  autumnal  grass  which  they  find  under  the  snow.  These  creatures, 
whose  powers  of  endurance  are  almost  incredible,  change  their  hair  in  summer 
like  the  other  quadrupeds  of  the  Arctic  regions.  They  keep  their  strength, 
though  travelling  perhaps  for  months  through  the  wilderness  without  any  other 
food  than  the  parched,  half-rotten  grass  met  with  on  the  Avay.  They  retain 
their  teeth  to  old  age,  and  remain  young  much  longer  than  our  horses.  "  He 
who  thinks  of  improving  the  Jakut  horse,"  says  Von  Middendorff, "  a^ms  at 
something  like  perfection.  Fancy  the  worst  conceivable  roads,  and  for  nourish- 
ment the  bark  of  the  larch  and  willow,  with  hard  grass-stalks  instead  of  oats ; 
or  merely  travel  on  the  post-road  to  Jakutsk,  and  see  the  horses  that  have 
just  run  forty  versts  without  stopping,  and  are  covered  with  perspiration  and 
foam,  eating  their  hay  in  the  open  air  without  the  slightest  covering,  at  a  tem- 
perature of  —40°." 

But  the  Jakut  himself  is  no  less  hardened  against  the  cold  than  his  faithful 
horse.  "  On  December  9,"  says  Wrangell,  "  we  bivouacked  round  a  fire,  at  a 
temperature  of  —28°,  on  an  open  pasture-ground,  which  afforded  no  shelter 
against  the  northern  blast.  Here  I  had  an  excellent  opportunity  for  admiring 
the  unparalleled  powers  of  endurance  of  our  Jakut  attendants.  On  the  long- 
est winter  journey  they  take  neither  tents  nor  extra  covering  along  with  them, 
not  even  one  of  the  larger  fur-dresses.  While  travelling,  the  Jakut  contents 
himself  with  his  usual  dress  ;  in  this  he  generally  sleeps  in  the  open  air ;  a 
horse  rug  stretched  out  upon  the  snow  is  his  bed,  a  wooden  saddle  his  pillow. 
With  the  same  fur  jacket,  which  serves  him  by  daytime  as  a  dress,  and  which 
he  pulls  off  when  he  hes  down  for  the  night,  he  decks  his  back  and  shoulders, 
while  the  front  part  of  his  body  is  turned  towards  the  fire  almost  without  any 
covering.  He  then  stops  his  nose  and  ears  with  small  pieces  of  skin,  and  cov- 
ers his  face  so  as  to  leave  but  a  small  opening  for  breathing — these  are  all  the 
precautions  he  takes  against  the  severest  cold.  Even  in  Siberia  the  Jakuts  are 
called  'men  of  iron.'  Often  have  I  seen  them  sleeping  at  a  temperature  of 
—4°  in  the  open  air,  near  an  extinguished  bivouac  fire,  and  with  a  thick  ice- 
rind  covering  their  almost  unprotected  body." 

Most  of  the  Jakuts  have  an  incredible  sharpness  of  vision.  One  of  them 
told  Lieutenant  Anjou,  pointing  to  the  planet  Jupiter,  that  he  had  often  seen 
yonder  blue  star  devour  a  smaller  one,  and  then  after  a  time  cast  it  out  again.* 
Their  local  memory  is  no  less  astonishing ;  a  pool  of  water,  a  large  stone,  a 
solitary  bush  imprints  itself  deeply  into  their  remembrance,  and  guides  them 
after  a  lapse  of  years  through  the  boundless  wilderness.  In  manual  dexterity 
they  surpass  all  other  Siberian  nations,  and  some  of  their  articles,  such  as  their 
poniards  and  their  leather,  might  figure  with  credit  in  any  European  exhibi- 
tion.    Long  before  the  Russian  conquest  they  made  use  of  the  iron  ore  on  the 

*  Humboldt  likewise  mentions  an  artisan  of  Bveslau  whose  sight  was  so  sharp  as  to  enable  him  to 
point  out  the  position  of  Jupiter's  satellites. 


THE  JAKUTS.  231 

Wilui  to  manufacture  their  own  knives  and  axes,  which,  either  from  the  excel- 
lence of  the  material  or  of  the  workmanship,  rarely  break,  even  in  the  severest 
cold — a  perfection  which  the  best  Sheffield  ware  does  not  attain.  Since  time 
immemorial  they  have  been  acquainted  with  the  art  of  striking  fire  with  flint 
and  steel,  an  invention  unknown  even  to  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans, 
Their  leather  is  perfectly  water-tight,  and  the  women  make  carpets  of  white 
and  colored  skins,  which  are  even  exported  to  Europe,  It  is  almost  superflu- 
ous to  mention  that  a  people  so  capable  of  bearing  hardships,  so  sharp-witted, 
and  so  eager  for  gain  as  the  Jakuts  must  needs  pursue  the  fur-bearing  ani- 
mals with  which  their  forests  abound  with  untiring  zeal  and  a  wonderful  dex- 
terity. 

The  horse  renders  the  Jakut  services  not  less  important  than  those  of  the 
reindeer  to  the  Samoiede  or  the  Lapp,  Besides  using  it  for  carrying  or  riding, 
the  Jakut  makes  articles  of  dress  out  of  its  skin,  and  fishing-nets  of  its  hair ; 
boiled  horse-meat  is  his  favorite  food,  and  sour  mare's  milk,  or  kumyss,  his 
chief  beverage.  Of  the  latter  he  also  makes  a  thick  porridge,  or  salamat,  by 
mixing  it  with  rye-flour,  or  the  inner  rind  of  the  larch  or  fir  tree,  to  which  he 
frequently  adds  dried  fish  and  berries,  and,  to  render  it  perfect,  a  quantity  of 
rancid  fat,  of  which  he  is  immoderately  fond.  He  is  in  fact  a  gross  feeder, 
and  some  professional  gluttons  are  capable  of  consuming  such  astonishing  mass- 
es as  to  shame  the  appetite  even  of  an  Esquimaux.  During  his  stay  at  Ja- 
kutsk,  Sir  George  Simpson  put  the  abilities  of  two  distinguished  artists  to  the 
test,  by  setting  two  pouds  of  boiled  beef  and  a  poud  of  melted  butter  before 
them.  Each  of  them  got  a  poud  of  meat  for  his  share ;  the  butter  they  were 
allowed  to  ladle  out  and  drink  ad  libitum.  The  one  was  old  and  experienced, 
the  other  young  and  full  of  zeal.  At  first  the  latter  had  the  advantage.  "  His 
teeth  are  good,"  said  the  elder  champion,  "  but  with  the  assistance  of  my  saint 
(crossing  himself),  I  will  soon  come  up  to  him." 

When  about  half  of  their  task  was  finished.  Sir  George  left  his  noble  guests 
to  the  care  and  inspection  of  his  secretary,  but  when  he  returned  a  few  hours 
after,  he  was  informed  that  all  Avas  consumed,  while  the  champions,  stretched 
out  on  the  floor,  confirmed  the  secretary's  report,  and  expressed  their  thanks 
for  the  exorbitant  meal  they  had  enjoyed  by  respectfully  kissing  the  ground. 
After  one  of  these  disgusting  feats,  the  gorged  gluttons  generally  remain  for 
three  or  four  days  plunged  in  a  torpid  state  like  boa  snakes,  without  eating  or 
drinking,  and  are  frequently  rolled  about  on  the  ground  to  promote  digestion. 
It  may  also  be  noticed,  as  a  proof  of  the  low  state  of  intellectual  culture  among 
the  Jakuts,  that  at  every  wedding  among  the  richer  class  two  professed  virtuosi 
in  the  art  of  gormandizing  are  regularly  invited  for  the  entertainment  of  the 
guests.  One  of  them  is  treated  at  the  bridegroom's  expense,  the  other  at  that 
of  the  bride,  and  the  party  whose  champion  gains  the  victory  considers  it  as  a 
good  omen  for  the  future. 

The  Jakuts,  besides  being  a  pre-eminently  pastoral  people,  arc  also  the  uni- 
versal carriers  to  the  east  of  the  Lena.  For  beyond  Jakutsk,  the  only  roads  are 
narrow  paths  leading  through  swamps,  dense  forests,  or  tangled  bushes,  so 
that  the  horse  affords  the  only  means  of  reaching  the  more  even  and  lower 


332  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

countries  where  reindeer  or  dogs  can  be  attached  to  sledges.  Without  the 
Jakut  and  his  horse,  the  Russian  would  never  have  been  able  to  penetrate  to 
the  Sea  of  Ochotsk,  and  from  thence  to  the  Aleutian  chain  ;  but  for  him,  they 
never  would  have  settled  on  the  Kolyma,  nor  have  opened  a  commercial  inter- 
course Avith  the  Tchuktchi  and  the  western  Esquimaux. 

Before  the  possession  of  the  Amoor  had  opened  a  new  road  to  commerce, 
thousands  of  pack-horses  used  annually  to  cross  the  Stanowoi  hills  on  the  way 
to  Ochotsk ;  and  when  we  consider  the  dreadful  hardships  of  the  journey,  we 
can  not  wonder  that  the  road  was  more  thickly  strewn  with  the  skeletons  of 
fallen  horses  than  the  caravan  routes  through  the  desert  with  the  bones  of  fam- 
ished camels.  But  the  Jakut  fears  neither  the  icy  cold  of  the  bivouac  nor  the 
pangs  of  hunger,  which,  in  spite  of  his  wolfish  voracity,  he  is  able  to  support 
with  stoical  fortitude.  He  fears  neither  the  storm  on  the  naked  hill,  nor  the 
gloom  of  the  forest,  nor  the  depth  of  the  morass ;  and,  bidding  defiance  to 
every  thing  else,  fears  only  the  invisible  power  of  "Ljeschei,"  the  spirit  of  the 
mountain  and  the  Av^ood.  The  traveller  wonders  when  he  sees  on  an  eminence 
crowned  with  firs  an  old  tree  from  whose  branches  hang  bunches  of  horse-hair. 
The  Jakut  who  leads  the  caravan  soon  explains  the  mystery.  He  dismounts, 
and  plucking  a  few  hairs  from  the  mane  of  his  horse,  attaches  them  Avith  a  great 
shoAV  of  respect  to  a  branch,  as  an  offering  to  propitiate  the  favor  of  Ljeschei 
on  the  journey.  Even  those  Jakuts  who  pass  for  Christians  still  pay  this  mark 
of  respect  to  the  dethroned  divinity  of  their  fathers  ;  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  they  still  retain  the  old  belie,f  in  Schamanism,  and  an  abject  fear  of 
all  sorts  of  evil  si^irits. 

While  travelhng  they  sing  almost  perpetually  melancholy  tunes,  correspond- 
ing with  the  habitual  gloom  of  their  national  character.  The  text  has  more 
variety  and  poetry,  and  generally  celebrates  the  beauties  of  nature,  the  stately 
growth-  of  the  pine,  the  murmuring  of  the  brook,  or  the  grandeur  of  the  mount- 
ain. The  singers  are  mostly  improvisatores,  and  to  conciliate  the  favor  of  Lje- 
schei, they  praise  the  desert  through  which  they  pass  as  ifit  Avere  a  paradise. 

Like  the  impoverished  Samoiede  or  Lapp,  the  indigent  Jakut,  Avho  possess- 
es neither  cattle  nor  horses,  settles  near  some  sti'eam.  His  only  domestic  ani- 
mal is  his  dog,  Avho  carries  the  fish  on  a  light  sledge  from  the  river-bank  to  his 
hut,  or  folloAvs  him  into  the  woods  on  his  hunting  expeditions.  With  the  skins 
of  fur-bearing  animals  he  pays  his jassal.,  and  is  glad  if  the  surplus  alloAvs  him 
to  indulge  from  time  to  time  in  the  luxury  of  a  pipe  of  Circassian  tobacco. 


WRANGELL.  233 


CHAPTER  XX. 

WRANGELL. 

His  distinguished  Services  as  an  Arctic  Explorer. — ^From  Petersburg  to  Jakutsk  in  1820. — Trade  of 
Jakutsk.— From  Jakutsk  to  Nishne-Kolymsk.— The  Badarany.— Dreadful  Climate  of  Nishne-Ko- 
Ivmsk. — Summer  Plagues. — Vegetation. — Animal  Life. — Reindeer-hunting. — Famine. — Inundations. 
—The  Siberian  Dog.— First  Journeys  over  the  Ice  of  the  Polar  Sea,  and  Exploration  of  the  Coast 
beyond  Cape  Shelagskoi  in  1821. — Dreadful  Dangers  and  Hardships.— Matiuschkin's  Sledge-journey 
over  the  Polar  Sea  in  1822.— Last  Adventures  on  the  Polar  Sea. — A  Run  for  Life.— Return  to  St. 
Petersburg. 

THE  expeditions  which  had  been  sent  out  during  the  reign  of  the  Empress 
Anna  for  the  exploration  of  the  Arctic  shores  of  Eastern  Siberia,  had  per- 
formed their  task  so  badly  as  to  leave  them  still  almost  totally  unknown.  To 
fill  up  this  blank  in  geography,  the  Emperor  Alexander  ordered  two  new  ex- 
peditions to  be  fitted  out  in  1820  for  the  purpose  of  accurately  ascertaming 
the  limits  of  these  extreme  frontiers  of  his  immense  empire.  Of  the  one  which, 
under  Lieutenant  Anjou,  commenced  its  operations  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Jana,  and  comprised  within  its  range  New  Siberia  and  the  other  islands  of  the 
Lachow  group,  but  little  has  been  communicated  to  the  public,' all  his  papers 
having  been  accidentally  burned  ;  but  the  travels  of  Lieutenant  von  Wrangell, 
the  commander  of  the  second  expedition,  have  obtained  a  world-wide  celebrity. 
Starting  from  the  mouths  of  the  Kolyma,  he  not  only  rectified  the  errors  of  the 
coast-line  of  Siberia,  from  the  Indigirka  in  the  west  to  Koliutschin  Island  in 
the  east,  but  more  than  once  ventured  in  a  sledge  upon  the  Polar  Ocean,  iit 
the  hopes  of  discovering  a  large  country  supposed  to  be  situated  to  the  north- 
ward of  Kotelnoi  and  New  Siberia. 

"Wrangell  left  St.  Petersburg  on  March  23,  1820,  and  experiencing  in  his 
journey  of  3500  miles  repeated  alternations  of  spring  and  winter,  arrived  at 
Irkutsk,  where  the  gardens  were  in  full  flower,  on  May  20. 

After  a  month's  rest,  a  short  journey  brought  him  to  the  banks  of  the  Lena, 
on  which  he  embarked  on  June  27,  to  descend  to  Jakutsk,  which  he  reached 
on  July  27.  This  small  town  of  4000  inhabitants  bears  the  gloomy  stamp  of 
the  frigid  north,  for  though  it  has  a  few  good  houses,  its  dwellings  chiefly  con- 
sist of  the  winter  yourts  of  the  Jakuts,  with  turf-covered  roofs,  doors  of  skins, 
and  wdndows  of  talc  or  ice.  The  only  "  sight "  of  this  dreary  place  is  the  old 
ruinous  ostrog  or  wooden  fort  built  by  the  Cossacks,  the  conquerors  of  the 
country,  in  1647.  Jakutsk  is  the  centre  of  the  interior  trade  of  Siberia.  To 
this  place  are  brought,  in  enormous  quantities,  furs  of  all  kinds,  walrus-teeth, 
and  mammoth-tusks,  from  distances  of  many  thousand  versts,  to  an  amount  of 
half  a  million  pounds. 

The  commercial  sj^here  of  the  Jakutsk  merchants  is  of  an  immense  extent. 
During  a  cold  of  ten  and  twenty  degrees  they  set  out  for  the  Li'ichow  Isles,  for 


234  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

the  fair  of  Ostrownoje,  for  Ochotsk,  or  Kjachta.  Jakutsk  merchants  were  the 
first  who  ventured  in  crazy  sliips  across  the  Sea  of  Kamchatka,  and  discovered 
the  island  of  Kadjiak,  eighty  degrees  of  longitude  from  their  home. 

On  September  1 2  Wi-angell  left  Jakutsk,  where  regular  travelling  ends,  as 
from  thence  to  Kolymsk,  and  generally  throughout  Northern  Siberia,  there  are 
no  beaten  roads.  The  utmost  that  can  be  looked  for  are  foot  or  horse  tracks 
leading  through  morasses  or  tangled  forests,  and  over  rocks  and  mountains. 
Travellers  proceed  on  horseback  through  the  hilly  country,  and,  on  reaching 
the  plains,  use  sledges  drawn  either  by  reindeer  or  dogs. 

In  this  manner  Wrangell  crossed  from  the  basin  of  the  Lena  to  that  of  the 
Yana,  never  experiencing  a  higher  temperature  than  +2°,  and  frequently  en- 
during a  cold  of  more  than  —12°,  during  the  journey  over  the  intervening 
hills,  and  then  turning  eastward,  traversed  the  Badarany,  a  completely  unin- 
habited desert,  chiefly  consisting  of  swamps.  These  Badarany  never  entirely 
dry  up,  even  after  the  longest  summer-drought.  At  that  time  a  solid  crust  is 
formed,  through  which  the  horses  frequently  break,  but  they  are  preserved 
from  totally  sinking  in  the  mire  by  the  perpetually  frozen  underground.  Noth- 
ing can  be  more  dismal  and  dreary  than  the  Badarany.  As  far  as  the  eye 
reaches,  nothing  is  to  be  seen  but  a  covering  of  dingy  moss,  relieved  here  and 
there  on  some  more  elevated  spots  by  wretched  specimens  of  dwarf-larches. 
The  winter  is  the  only  season  for  traversing  this  treacherous  waste,  but  woe  to 
the  traveller  should  he  be  overtaken  by  a  snow-storm,  as  for  miles  and  miles 
there  is  no  shelter  to  be  found  but  that  of  some  ruinous  powarni,  or  post-station. 

At  length,  fifty-two  days  after  leaving  Jakutsk,  Wrangell  arrived  on  No- 
vember 2  at  Nishne-Kolymsk,  the  appointed  head-quarters  of  the  expedition, 
where  he  was  welcomed  with  a  cold  of  —40°,  or  72°  below  the  freezing-point 
of  water. 

Even  in  Siberia  the  climate  of  this  place  is  ill-reputed  for  its  severity,  which 
is  as  much  due  to  its  unfavorable  position  as  to  its  high  latitude  (68°  N.). 
The  town  stands  on  a  low  swampy  island  of  the  Kolyma,  having  on  the  west 
the  barren  tundra,  and  on  the  north  the  Arctic  Ocean,  so  that  the  almost  con- 
stant north-west  winds  have  full  scope  for  their  violence,  and  cause  frequent 
snow-storms  even  in  summer. 

The  mean  temperature  of  the  whole  year  is  only  +14°.  The  river  at  Nishne- 
Kolymsk  freezes  early  in  September,  but  lower  down,  where  the  current  is  less 
rapid,  loaded  horses  can  sometimes  cross  on  the  ice  as  early  as  August  20,  nor 
does  the  ice  ever  melt  before  June. 

Although  the  sun  remains  fifty-two  days  above  the  horizon,  the  light,  ob- 
scured by  almost  perpetual  mists,  is  accompanied  with  little  heat,  and  the  solar 
disc,  compressed  by  refraction  into  an  elliptical  form,  may  be  looked  at  with 
the  naked  eye  without  inconvenience.  In  spite  of  the  constant  light,  the  com- 
mon order  of  the  parts  of  the  day  is  plainly  discernible.  When  the  sun  sinks 
down  to  the  horizon,  ah  nature  is  mute ;  but  when,  after  a  few  hours,  it  rises 
in  the  skies,  every  thing  awakens,  the  few  little  birds  break  out  in  feeble  twit- 
ter, and  the  shrivelled  flowers  venture  to  open  their  petals. 

Although  winter  and  summer  are  in  reality  the  only  seasons,  yet  the  inhab- 


WRANGELL.  235 

itants  fancy  they  have  jqjring  when  about  noon  the  rays  of  the  sun  begin  to 
make  themselves  felt,  which  generally  takes  place  about  the  middle  of  March, 
but  this  so-called  spring  has  frequent  night-frosts  of  twenty  degrees.  Their 
autumn  is  reckoned  from  the  time  Avhen  the  rivers  begin  to  freeze  over,  that  is, 
from  the  fii'st  days  of  September," when  a  cold  of  thirty  degrees  is  already  by 
no  means  uncommon.  As  may  easily  be  supposed  iii  a  climate  like  this,  the 
vegetation  of  summer  is  scarcely  more  than  a  struggle  for  existence. 

In  the  latter  end  of  May  the  stunted  willow-bushes  put  out  little  wrinkled 
leaves,  and  those  banks  which  slope  towards  the  south  become  clothed  with  a 
semi-verdant  hue ;  in  June  the  temperature  at  noon  attains  72° ;  the  flowers 
show  themselves,  and  the  berry-bearing  plants  blossom,  when  sometimes  an  icy 
blast  from  the  sea  destroys  the  bloom.  The  air  is  clearest  in  July,  and  the 
temperature  is  usually  mild,  but  then  a  new  plague  arises  for  the  torment  of 
man.  MiUions  and  millions  of  mosquitoes  issue  from  the  swamps  of  the  tun- 
dra, and  compel  the  inhabitants  to  seek  refuge  in  the  dense  and  pungent  smoke 
of  the  "  dymokury,'  or  large  heaps  of  fallen  leaves  and  damp  Avood,  Avhich  are 
kindled  near  the  dwellings  and  on  the  pasture-grounds,  as  the  only  means  of 
keeping  off  those  abominable  insects. 

These  tormentors,  however,  are  not  without  use,  for  they  compel  the  rein- 
deer to  migrate  fi-om  the  forests  to  the  sea-shore  and  the  ice,  thus  exposing 
them  to  the  attack  of  the  hunters,  and  they  also  prevent  the  horses  from  stray- 
ing in  the  plains,  and  wandering  beyond  the  protection  of  the  smoke. 

Scarcely  is  the  mosquito  plague  at  an  end,  when  the  dense  autumn  fogs  rising 
from  the  sea  spoil  the  enjoyment  of  the  last  mild  hours  which  precede  the  nine 
months'  winter.  In  January  the  cold  increases  to  —  45° ;  breathing  then  be- 
comes difficult ;  the  wild  reindeer,  the  indigenous  inhabitant  of  the  Polar  region, 
withdraws  to  the  thickest  part  of  the  forest,  and  stands  there  motionless,  as  if 
deprived  of  life. 

With  the  22d  November  begins  a  night  of  thirty-eight  days,  relieved  in  some 
degree  by  the  strong  refraction  and  the  white  of  the  snow,  as  well  as  by  the 
moon  and  the  aurora.  On  the  28th  December  the  first  pale  glimmering  of  dawn 
appears,  which  even  at  noon  does  not  obscure  the  stars.  With  the  re-appear- 
ance of  the  sun  the  cold  increases,  and  is  most  intense  in  February  and  March 
at  the  rising  of  the  sun.  Even  in  winter  completely  clear  days  are  very  rare, 
as  the  cold  sea-wind  covers  the  land  with  mists  and  fogs. 

The  character  of  the  vegetation  corresponds  with  that  of  the  climate.  Moss, 
stunted  grass,  dwarfish  willow-shrubs,  are  all  that  the  place  produces.  The 
neighboring  valleys  of  the  Aniuj,  protected  by  mountains  against  the  sea-wind, 
have  a  somewhat  richer  flora,  for  here  groAV  berry-bearing  plants,  the  birch,  the 
poplar,  absinthe,  thyme,  and  the  low-creeping  cedar.  This  poverty,  however, 
of  the  vegetable  world  is  strongly  contrasted  Avith  the  profusion  of  animal  life 
over  these  shores  and  on  the  Polar  Sea.  Reindeer,  elks,  bears,  foxes,  sables, 
and  gray  squirrels  fill  the  upland  forests,  while  stone-foxes  burrow  in  the  low 
grounds.  Enormous  flights  of  swans,  geese,  and  ducks  arrive  in  spring,  and 
seek  deserts  where  they  may  moult  and  build  their  nests  in  safety.  Eagles, 
owls,  and  gulls  pursue  their  prey  along  the  sea-coast ;  ptarmigan  run  in  troops 


236  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

amoqg  the  bushes ;  little  snipes  are  busy  among  the  brooks.  In  the  raorasses 
the  crows  gather  round  the  huts  of  the  natives ;  and  when  the  sun  shines  in 
sprmg,  the  traveller  may  even  sometimes  hear  the  note  of  the  finch,  and  in  au- 
tumn that  of  the  thrush.  But  the  landscape  remains  dreary  and  dead ;  all  de- 
notes that  here  the  limits  of  the  habitable  earth  are  passed,  and  one  asks  with 
astonishment  what  could  induce  human  beings  to  take  up  their  abode  in  so 
comfortless  a  region  ? 

In  the  district  of  Kolymsk,  which  surpasses  in  size  many  a  European  king- 
dom, the  population,  at  the  time  of  Wraugell's  visit,  consisted  of  325  Russians, 
1034  Jakuts,  and  1139  Jukahires  of  the  male  sex,  of  whom  2173  had  to  pay  the 
/«ssa^,  consisting  of  803  fox  and  28  sable  skins,  worth  6704  roubles,  besides 
which  they  were  taxed  to  the  amount  of  10,847  roubles  in  money.  Thus  the 
Russian  double-eagle  made,  and  no  doubt  still  makes,  the  poor  people  of  Kolymsk 
pay  rather  dear  for  the  honor  of  living  under  the  protection  of  its  talons. 

The  Cossacks,  in  virtue  of  their  descent  from  the  original  conquerors  of 
the  country,  enjoy  the  enviable  privilege  of  being  tax  free ;  they  are,  however, 
obliged  to  render  military  service  when  required.  They  form  the  small  gar- 
rison of  Nishne-Kolymsk,  and  every  year  twenty-five  of  them  repair  to  the  fair 
of  Ostrownoje,  to  keep  the  wild  Tchuktchi  in  check.  The  Russians  are  chiefl)^ 
the  descendants  of  fur-hunters  or  of  exiles ;  and  though  they  have  adopted  the 
native  clothing  and  mode  of  life,  they  are  still  distinguishable  by  their  more 
muscular  frame.  The  women,  who  are  somewhat  better-looking  than  the  fe- 
male Jakuts  and  Jukahires,  are  fond  of  music,  and  their  traditional  songs 
dwell  on  the  beauties  of  nature  —  the  rustling  brook,  the  flowery  mead,  the 
nightingale's  note — all  things  belonging  to  a  world  of  Avhich  they  have  no  idea. 

The  dwellings  of  the  Russians  are  hardly  to  be  distinguished  from  the  yourts 
of  the  native  tribes.  They  are  made  of  drift-wood,  and,  as  may  easily  be  im- 
agined, are  very  small  and  low.  The  interstices  are  carefully  stopped  up  Avith 
moss,  and  the  outside  is  covered  with  a  thick  layer  of  clay.  An  external  mud 
wall  rises  to  the  height  of  the  roof  to  keep  off  the  wind.  In  a  hut  like  this 
Wrangell  spent  many  a  winter  month,  but  when  the  cold  was  very  intense,  he 
was  not  able  to  lay  aside  any  part  of  his  fur  clothing,  though  sitting  close  to  a 
large  fire.  When  he  wanted  to  write  he  had  to  keej)the  inkstand  in  hot  water ; 
and  at  night,  when  the  fire  Avas  allowed  to  go  out  for  a  short  time,  his  bedclothes 
were  always  covered  with  a  thick  snow-like  rime. 

The  existence  of  the  people  of  Kolymsk  depends  upon  fishing  and  hunting, 
in  which  they  are  assisted  by  their  dogs.  These  faithful,  but  cruelly-treated 
animals,  are  said  to  resemble,  the  wolf,  having  long,  pointed,  projecting  noses, 
sharp  and  upright  ears,  and  long  bushy  tails.  Their  color  is  black,  brown, 
reddish-brown,  white,  and  spotted,  their  howling  that  of  a  wolf.  In  summer 
they  dig  holes  in  the  ground  for  coolness,  or  lie  in  the  water  to  escape  the  mos- 
quitoes ;  in  winter  they  burrow  in  the  snow,  and  lie  curled  up,  with  their  noses 
covered  with  their  bushy  tails.  The  preparation  of  these  animals  for  a  journey 
must  be  carefully  attended  to ;  for  a  fortnight  at  least  they  should  be  put  on  a 
small  allowance  of  hard  food,  to  convert  their  superfluous  fat  into  firm  flesh  ; 
they  must  also  be  driven  from  ten  to  twenty  miles  daily,  after  which  they  have 


WRANGELL.  237 

been  known  to  travel  a  hundred  miles  a  day  without  being  injured  by  it.  A 
team  consists  commonly  of  twelve  dogs,  and  it  is  of  importance  that  they  should 
be  accustomed  to  draw  together.  The  quick  and  steady  going  of  the  team, 
as  well  as  the  safety  of  the  traveller,  mainly  depends  on  the  docility  and  sa- 
gacity of  the  foremost  dog  or  leader.  No  pains  are  therefore  spared  in  his  edu- 
cation, so  that  he  may  understand  and  obey  his  master's  orders,  and  prevent  the 
rest  from  starting  off  in  pursiiit  of  the  stone-foxes  or  other  animals  that  may 
chance  to  cross  their  path.  Their  usual  food  is'  frozen  fish,  and  ten  good  her- 
rings are  said  to  be  a  proper  daily  allowance  for  each  dog  while  on  duty. 
When  not  actively  employed,  they  are  obliged  to  content  themselves  with  offal, 
and  towards  spring,  when  the  winter's  j)rovisions  are  generally  exhausted,  the}- 
suffer  the  keenest  hunger. 

This  season  is  also  a  hard  time  for  the  wandering  tribes  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. Then  they  flock  to  Nishne-Kolymsk,  and  to  the  other  Russian  settle- 
ments on  the  Kolyma,  but  here  also  famine  stares  them  in  the  face.  There  is, 
indeed,  a  public  corn  magazine,  but  the  price  of  flour  is  raised  by  the  cost  of 
transport  to  such  an  exoi'bitant  height,  as  to  be  completely  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  majority  of  the  people.  Three  such  dreadful  springs  did  AVrangell  pass  at 
Kolymsk,  witnessing  scenes  of  misery  never  to  be  forgotten. 

But  when  the  distress  of  the  people  has  reached  its  highest  point,  relief  is 
generally  at  hand.  Troops  of  migratory  birds  come  from  the  south,  and  fur- 
nish some  food  for  the  despairing  population.  The  supply  is  increased  in  June, 
when  the  ice  breaks  on  the  Kolyma,  for  in  spite  of  the  faultiness  of  the  nets 
and  the  want  of  skill  of  the  fishermen,  the  river  is  the  principal  source  of  plenty 
during  the  summer,  and  supplies,  moreover,  the  chief  provisions  for  the  follow- 
ing winter.  But  with  these  gifts  "the  Kolyma  brings  the  plague  of  inundations, 
so  that  during  the  summer  of  1822  Wrangell  was  obliged  to  spend  a  Avhole 
week  on  the  flat  roof  of  his  hut. 

The  chief  resource  of  the  Jukahires  of  the  River  Aniuj  is  the  reindeer  chase, 
the  success  of  which  mainly  decides  whether  famine  or  some  degree  of  comfort 
is  to  be  their  lot  during  the  coming  winter.  The  passage  of  the  reindeer  takes 
place  twice  a  year ;  in  spring,  when  the  mosquitoes  compel  them  to  seek  the 
sea-shore,  where  they  feed  on  the  moss  of  the  tundra,  and  in  autumn,  when  the 
increasing  cold  forces  them  to  retii'e  from  the  coast.  The  spring  migration, 
which  begins  about  the  middle  of  May,  is  not  very  profitable,  partly  because 
the  animals  are  meagre,  and  their  furs  in  bad  condition,  and  partly  because  it 
is  more  difficult  to  kill  them  as  they  pass  the  frozen  rivers.  The  chief  hunting 
is  in  August  and  September,  when  the  herds,  consisting  each  of  several  thou- 
sand deer,  return  to  the  forests.  They  invariably  cross  the  ri.ver  at  a  particular 
spot,  where  a  flat  sandy  bank  makes  their  landing  easier ;  and  here  they  press 
more  closely  together,  under  the  guidance  of  the  strongest  animals  of  the  herd. 

The  passage  takes  place  after  some  hesitation,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the 
river  is  covered  with  swimming  reindeer.  The  hunters,  hidden  in  creeks  or 
behind  stones  and  bushes,  now  shoot  forth  in  their  small  boats  and  wound  as 
many  as  they  can.  While  they  are  thus  busy,  they  run  some  risk  of  being  over- 
turned in  the  turmoil,  for  the  bucks  defend  themselves  Avith  their  horns,  their 


238  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

teeth,  and  their  hind  legs,  while  the  roes  generally  attempt  to  spring  with  their 
fore  feet  upon  the  edge  of  the  boat.  When  the  hunter  is  thus  overset,  his  only 
chance  of  safety  is  to  cling  to  a  strong  animal,  which  safely  brings  him  to  the 
shore.  But  the  dexterity  of  the  hunters  renders  such  accidents  rare.  A  good 
hunter  will  kill  a  hundred  remdeer  and  more  in  half  an  hour.  In  the  mean 
time  the  other  boats  seize  the  killed  animals,  which  become  their  property, 
while  those  fhat  are  merely  wounded  and  swim  ashore  belong  to  the  hunters, 
who,  in  the  midst  of  the  tumult,  where  all  their  energies  are  taxed  to  the  ut 
most,  direct  their  strokes  in  such  a  manner  as  only  severely  to  wound  the  larger 
animals.  The  noise  of  the  horns  striking  against  each  other,  the  waters  tinged 
with  blood,  the  cries  of  the  hunters,  the  snorting  of  the  affrighted  animals,  form 
a  scene  not  to  be  described. 

The  people  of  the  Auiuj  were  already  suffering  great  distress  when,  on 
September  12,  1821,  the  eagerly-expected  reindeer  herds  made  their  appear- 
ance on  the  right  bank  of  the  river.  Never  had  such  a  multitude  been  seen ; 
they  covered  the  hills,  and  their  horns  might  have  been  mistaken  at  a  distance 
for  a  moving  forest.  In  a  short  time  numbers  of  the  Siberian  tribes  had  as- 
sembled, ready  to  destroy  them.  But  the  Avary  animals,  alarmed  by  some  cir- 
cumstance or  other,  took  another  road,  and,  leaving  the  banks  of  the  river,  van- 
ished on  the  mountains.  The  despair  of  the  people  may  be  imagined ;  some 
lamented  aloud  and  wrung  their  hands,  others  threw  themselves  upon  the 
ground  and  scratched  up  the  snow,  others  stood  motionless  like  statues — a 
dreadful  image  of  the  universal  misery.  The  later  fishing-season  likewise  failed 
in  this  deplorable  yea¥,  and  many  hundreds  died  in  the  following  winter. 

While  the  men  of  Kolymsk  are  busily  employed  during  the  short  summer 
in  hunting,  fishing,  and  hay-making,  the  women  wander  over  the  country,  par- 
ticularly in  the  mountains,  to  gather  edible  roots,  aromatic  herbs,  and  berries 
of  various  kinds,  which  latter,  however,  do  not  every  year  arrive  at  maturity. 
The  berry-gathering  here,  like  the  vintage  elsewhere,  is  a  time  of  merriment. 
The  younger  women  and  girls  go  together  in  large  parties,  passing  whole  days 
and  nights  in  the  open  air.  When  the  berries  are  collected,  cold  water  is 
poured  over  them,  and  they  are  preserved  in  a  frozen  state  for  a  winter  treat. 
Social  parties  are  not  unknown  at  Kolymsk,  and  are  perhaps  not  less  entertain- 
ing than  in  more  refined  communities.  Floods  of  weak  tea  (for  the  aromatic 
leaves  "  which  cheer,  but  not  inebriate,"  are  very  dear  at  Kolymsk)  form  the 
staple  of  the  entertainment ;  and  as  sugar  is  also  an  expensive  article,  every 
guest  takes  a  lump  of  candy  in  liis  mouth,  lets  the  tea  which  he  sips  flow  by, 
and  then  replaces  it  upon  the  saucer.  It  would  be  considered  very  unmannerly 
were  he  to  consume  the  whole  piece,  which  thus  is  able  to  do  duty  at  more 
than  one  soiree.     Next  to  tea,  brandy  is  a  chief  requisite  of  a  Kolymsk  party. 

The  busiest  time  at  Kolymsk  is  in  February,  when  the  caravan  from  Ja- 
kutsk  arrives  on  its  way  to  the  fair  of  Ostrownoje.  It  consists  of  about  twen- 
ty merchants,  each  of  whom  leads  from  ten  to  forty  sumpter  horses.  This  is 
the  time  not  only  for  sale  and  purchase,  but  also  for  hearing  the  last  news  from 
the  provincial  capital  Jakutsk,  and  receiving  intelligence  six  months  old  from 
Moscow  and  St.  Petersburg. 


WRANGELL.  230 

From  this  short  account  of  Kolyrask  life  it  may  well  be  imagined  what  a 
sensation  it  must  have  made  in  so  secluded  a  place  when  Wrangell  arrived 
there  in  November,  and  informed  the  people  that  he  Avas  come  to  spend  the 
better  part  of  the  next  three  years  among  them. 

The  winter  was  passed  in  preparation  for  the  next  spring  expeditions,  foi- 
during  the  long  Arctic  night  the  darkness  prevents  travelling,  and  the  snow- 
acquires  a  peculiar  hardness  or  sharpness  from  the  extreme  cold,  so  that  then 
four  times  the  number  of  dogs  would  be  needed.  But  as  in  summer  the  thaw- 
ing is  likewise  a  hindrance,  Wrangell  had  in  reality  only  about  ten  weeks  every 
year,  from  March  till  the  end  of  May,  for  the  accomphshment  of  his  task. 

As  may  easily  be  supposed,  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  make  the  necessary 
arrangements  for  an  expedition  requiring  some  hundreds  of  dogs,  and  provis- 
ions for  several  weeks ;  but  such  was  the  energy  displayed  by  Wrangell  and 
his  colleagues,  that  on  Febrhary  19, 1821,  they  were  able  to  start  on  their  first 
journey  over  the  ice  of  the  Polar  Sea,  which  they  reached  on  the  25th.  Nine 
sledges,  with  the  usual  team  of  twelve  dogs  to  each,  were  provided  for  the 
present  excursion,  six  of  which  were  to  carry  provisions  and  stores,  to  be  dis- 
tributed in  different  depots,  and  then  to  return.  The  provisions  for  the  dogs 
consisted  of  2400  fresh  herrings,  and  as  much  "  jukola"  as  was  equivalent  to 
8150  dried  herrings.  The  increasing  cold  and  the  violence  of  the  wind  made 
travelling  very  difficult.  To  guard  the  dogs  from  being  frozen,  the  drivers 
were  obliged  to  put  clothing  on  their  bodies,  and  a  kind  of  boots  on  their 
feet,  which  greatly  impeded  their  ruiming.  At  times  the  frost  was  so  intense 
that  the  mercury  congealed  while  Wrangell  was  making  his  observations.  He 
thus  describes  the  manner  in  which  he  passed  the  nights  on  the  Polar  Sea  in 
his  tent : — 

"  Between  tea  and  supper  the  sledge-drivers  went  out  to  attend  and  feed 
their  dogs,  which  were  always  tied  up  for  the  night,  lest  they  should  be  tempt- 
ed away  by  the  scent  of  some  wild  animal.  Meanwhile,  we  were  engaged  in 
comparing  our  observations,  and  in  laying  down  on  the  map  the  ground  which 
we  had  gone  over  in  the  course  of  the  day ;  the  severe  cold,  and  the  smoke 
which  usually  filled  the  tent,  sometimes  made  this  no  easy  task.  Supper  always 
consisted  of  a  single  dish  of  fish  or  meat  soup,  which  was  boiled  for  us  all  in 
the  same  kettle,  out  of  which  it  was  eaten.  Soon  after  we  had  finished  our 
meal,  the  whole  party  lay  down  to  sleep.  On  account  of  the  cold  we  could 
not  lay  aside  any  part  of  our  travelling-dress,  but  we  regularly  changed  our 
boots  and  stockings  every  evening,  and  hung  those  we  had  taken  off,  with  our 
fur  caps  and  gloves,  on  the  tent-poles  to  dry.  This  is  an  essential  precaution, 
particularly  in  resj^ect  to  stockings,  for  with  damp  clothing  there  is  the  great- 
est risk  of  the  part  being  frozen.  We  always  spread  the  bear-skins  between 
the  frozen  ground  and  ourselves,  and  the  fur  covei'ings  over  us,  and,  being  well 
tired,  we  usually  slept  very  soundly.  As  long  as  all  the  sledge-drivers  contin- 
ued with  us,  w^e  were  so  crowded  that  we  had  to  place  ourselves  like  the  spokes 
of  a  wheel,  with  our  feet  towards  the  fire  and  our  heads  against  the  tent  wall. 
In  the  morning  we  generally  rose  at  six,  lit  the  fire,  and  washed  ourselves  be- 
fore it  with  fresh  snow ;  we  then  took  tea,  and  immediately  afterwards  dinner 


240  THE   POLAR    WORLD. 

(which  Avas  sirtiilar  to  the  supper  of  the  night  before).  The  tent  was  then 
struck,  and  every  thing  packed  and  stowed  on  thB  sledges,  and  at  nine  we  usually 
took  our  departure." 

The  chief  impediments  to  journeying  on  the  ice  were  found  to  be  the  hum- 
mocks, often  eighty  feet  high,  which  lie  in  ridges  at  certain  distances,  parallel 
perhaps  to  the  shore.  Along  the  line  or  lines  where  the  ice  is  periodically 
broken,  it  is  forced  by  pressure  and  the  tossing  of  a  tempestuous  sea  into  those 
irregular  ridges  through  which  Wrangell  had  sometimes  to  make  a  way  with 
crowbars  for  half  a  mile.  The  "  polin^as,"  or  spaces  of  open  water  in  the 
midst  of  the  ice,  offered  less  hindrance,  as  they  might  be  avoided ;  but  in  this 
neighborhood,  and  sometimes  even  where  no  hole  in  the  ice  was  visible,  layers 
of  salt  were  met  with,  which  cut  the  dogs'  feet,  and  at  the  same  time  increased 
the  labor  of  the  draft,  the  sledges  moving  over  the  salt  with  as  much  difficulty 
as  they  would  over  gravel. 

In  spite  of  all  these  hindrances,  Wrangell  extended  his  exploration  of  the 
coast  fifty  versts  beyond  Cape  Shelagskoi,  where  the  want  of  fuel  and  provis- 
ions compelled  him  to  return.  The  depots  which  he  had  made  as  he  ad- 
vanced, Avere  found  partly  devoured  by  the  stone-foxes  and  gluttons,  so  that 
the  party  was  compelled  to  fast  during  the  two  last  days  of  the  journey.  Aft- 
er an  absence  of  three  weeks  Nishne-Kolymsk  appeared  like  a  second  Capua 
to  Wrangell,  but  time  being  precious  he  allowed  himself  but  a  few  days'  rest, 
and  started  afresh,  on  March  26,  for  Cape  Shelagskoi,  with  the  intention  of  pen- 
etrating as  far  as  possible  to  the  north  on  the  ice  of  the  Polar  Sea.  The  car- 
avan consisted  of  twenty-two  sledges,  laden  with  fuel  and  provisions  for  thirty 
days,  including  food  for  240  dogs.  So  imposing  a  train  had  certainly  never 
been  seen  before  in  these  desolate  regions,  for  the  part  of  the  coast  between 
the  Kolyma  and  Cape  Shelagskoi  is  wholly  uninhabited ;  on  one  side  the  oc- 
casional excursions  of  the  Russians  terminate  at  the  Baranow  rocks,  and  on 
the  other  the  Tchuktchi  do  not  cross  the  larger  Baranow  River.  The  interven- 
ing eighty  versts  of  coast  are  never  visited  by  either  party,  but  considered  as 
neutral  ground.  On  April  1  Wrangell  reached  the  borders  of  the  Polar  Sea, 
and  proceeding  northward  to  71°  31',  found  the  thickness  of  the  ice,  which  he 
measured  by  means  of  a  hole,  to  be  about  a  foot,  very  rotten,  and  full  of  salt ; 
the  soundings,  twelve  fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of  soft  green  mud.  The  wind 
increasing  in  violence,  he  heard  the  sound  of  the  water  beneath,  and  felt  the 
undulatory  motion  of  the  thin  crust  of  ice. 

"  Our  position,"  says  the  bold  explorer,  "  was  at  least  an  anxious  one ;  the 
more  so  as  we  could  take  no  step  to  avoid  the  impending  danger.  I  believe 
few  of  our  party  slept,  except  the  dogs,  who  alone  were  unconscious  of  the 
great  probability  of  the  ice  being  broken  up  by  the  force  of  the  waves.  Next 
day,  the  wind  having  fallen,  I  had  two  of  the  best  sledges  emptied,  and  placed 
in  them  provisions  for  twenty-four  hours,  with  the  boat  and  oars,  some  poles 
and  boards,  and  proceeded  northward  to  examine  the  state  of  the  ice ;  directing 
M.  von  Matiuschkin,  in  case  of  danger,  to  retire  with  the  Avhole  party  as  far  as 
might  be  needful,  without  awaiting  my  return.  After  driving  through  the 
thick  brine  Avith  much  difficulty  for  seven  versts,  we  came  to  a  number  of  large 


WRANGELL.  241 

fissures,  which  we  passed  with  some  trouble  by  the  aid  of  the  boards  which  we 
had  brought  with  us.  At  last  the  fissures  became  so  numerous  and  so  wide 
that  it  was  hard  to  say  whether  the  sea  beneath  us  Avas  really  still  covered  by 
a  connected  coat  of  ice,  or  only  by  a  number  of  detached  floatiug  fragments, 
having  everywhere  two  or  more  feet  of  water  between  them.  A  single  gust 
of  wind  would  have  been  sufficient  to  drive  these  fragments  against  each  other, 
and  being  already  thoroughly  saturated  with  water,  they  would  have  sunk  in 
a  few  minutes,  leaving  nothing  but  sea  on  the  spot  where  we  were  standing. 
It  was  manifestly  useless  to  attempt  going  farther ;  we  hastened  to  rejoin  our 
companions,  and  to  seek  with  them  a  place  of  greater  security.  Our  most 
northern  latitude  was  71°  43'  at  a  distance  of  215  versts  in  a  straight  line  from 
the  lesser  Baranow  rock."  After  rejoining  his  companions,  and  while  still  on 
the  frozen  sea,  so  thick  a  snow-storm  came  on  that  those  in  the  hindmost 
sledge  could  not  see  the  leading  ones.  Unable  either  to  pitch  their  tent  or  to 
light  a  fire,  they  were  exposed  during  the  night  to  the  whole  fury  of  the  storm, 
with  a  temperatere  of  +'7°,  without  tea  or  soup,  and  with  nothing  to  quench 
their  thirst  or  satisfy  their  hunger  but  a  few  mouthfuls  of  snow,  a  little  rye 
biscuit,  and  a  half-spoilt  fish.  On  April  28  they  arrived  at  Nishne-Kolymsk, 
after  an  absence  of  thirty-six  days,  during  which  they  had  travelled  above  800 
miles  with  the  same  dogs,  men  and  animals  having  equally  suffered  from  cold, 
hunger,  and  fatigue. 

Neither  discomfort,  however,  nor  danger  prevented  Wrangell  from  under- 
taking a  third  excursion  in  the  following  spring.  He  had  great  difficulty  in 
procuring  the  necessary  dogs,  a  disease  which  raged  among  them  during  the 
winter  having  carried  off  more  than  four-fifths  of  these  useful  animals.  At 
length  his  wants  Avere  supplied  by  the  people  of  the  Indigirka,  where  the  sick- 
ness had  not  extended,  and  on  March  14, 1822,  he  again  set  out  for  the  borders 
of  the  Polar  Sea.  During  this  expedition  a  large  extent  of  coast  was  accu- 
rately surveyed  by  Wrangell,  wdio  sent  out  his  worthy  assistant  Matiuschkin, 
with  two  companions,  in  an  unloaded  sledge,  to  see  if  any  farther  advance 
could  be  made  to  the  north.  Having  accomplished  ten  versts,  Matiuschkin 
was  stopped  by  the  breaking  up  of  the  ice.  Enormous  masses,  raised  by  the 
waves  into  an  almost  vertical  position,  were  driven  against  each  other  with  a 
dreadful  crash,  and  pressed  downward  by  the  force  of  the  billows  to  re-appear 
again  on  the  surface  covered  with  the  torn-up  green  mud  which  here  forms  the 
bottom  of  the  sea.  It  would  tire  the  reader  were  I  to  relate  all  the  miseries  of 
their  return  voyage ;  suffice  it  to  say  that,  worn  out  with  hunger  and  fatigue, 
they  reached  Nishne-Kolymsk  on  May  5,  after  an  absence  of  fifty-seven  days. 
Such  sufferings  and  perils  might  have  excused  all  further  attempts  to  discover 
the  supposed  land  in  the  Polar  Sea,  but  nothing  daunted  by  his  repeated  fail- 
ures, Wrangell  determined  on  a  fourth  expedition  in  1823,  on  which  he  resolved 
to  start  from  a  more  easterly  point.  On  reaching  the  coast,  the  obstacles  were 
found  still  greater  than  on  his  previous  visits  to  that  fearful  sea.  The  weather 
was  tempestuous,  the  ice  thin  and  broken.  It  Avas  necessary  at  times  to  cross 
wide  lanes  of  water  on  pieces  of  ice ;  at  times  the  thin  ice  bent  beneath  the 
weight  of  the  sledges,  which  were  then  saved  only  by  the  sagacity  of  the  dogs, 

16 


243  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

who,  aware  of  the  danger,  ran  at  their  greatest  speed  until  they  found  a  solid 
footing.  At  length,  about  sixty  miles  from  shore,  they  arrived  at  the  edge 
of  an  immense  break  in  the  ice,  extending  east  and  west  farther  than  the  eye 
could  reach. 

"We  climbed  one  of  the  loftiest  hummocks,"  says  Wrangell,  "whence  we 
obtained  an  extensive  view  towards  the  north,  and  whence  we  beheld  the  wide 
ocean  spread  before  our  gaze.  It  was  a  fearful  and  magnificent,  but  to  us  a 
melancholy  spectacle !  Fragments  of  ice  of  enormous  size  floated  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  water,  and  were  thrown  by  the  waves  with  awful  violence  against 
the  edge  of  the  ice-field  on  the  farther  side  of  the  channel  before  us.  The  col- 
lisions were  so  tremendous  that  large  masses  were  every  instant  broken  away, 
and  it  was  evident  that  the  portion  of  ice  which  still  divided  the  channel  from 
the  open  ocean  would  soon  be  completely  destroyed.  Had  we  attempted  to 
ferry  ourselves  across  upon  one  of  the  floating  pieces  of  ice,  we  should  not  have 
found  firm  footing  upon  our  arrival.  Even  on  our  own  side  fresh  fines  of  water 
were  continually  forming,  and  extending  in  every  direction  in  the  field  of  ice 
behind  us.  \Ye  could  go  no  farther.  With  a  painful  feeling  of  the  impossi- 
bility of  overcoming  the  obstacles  which  nature  opposed  to  us,  our  last  hope 
vanished  of  discovering  the  land,  which  we  yet  believed  to  exist.  We  saw 
ourselves  compelled  to  renounce  the  object  for  which  we  had  striven  through 
three  years  of  hardships,  toil,  and  danger.  We  had  done  what  honor  and  duty 
demanded ;  further  attempts  would  have  been  absolutely  hopeless,  and  I  de- 
cided to  return." 

They  turned,  but  already  the  track  of  their  advance  was  scarcely  discernible, 
as  new  lanes  of  water  had  been  formed,  and  fresh  hummocks  raised  by  the  sea. 
To  add  to  their  distress,  a  storm  arose,  which  threatened  every  moment  to 
swallow  up  the  ice  island,  on  which  they  hoped  to  cross  a  wide  space  of  water 
which  separated  them  from  a  firmer  ground. 

"  We  had  been  three  long  hours  in  this  position,  and  still  the  mass  of  ice 
beneath  us  held  together,  when  suddenly  it  was  caught  by  the  storm,  and  hurled 
against  a  large  field  of  ice ;  the  crash  was  terrific,  and  the  mass  beneath  us 
was  shattered  into  fragments.  At  that  dreadful  moment,  when  escape  seemed 
impossible,  the  impulse  of  self-preservation,  implanted  in  every  living  being, 
saved  us.  Instinctively  we  all  sprang  at  once  on  the  sledges,  and  urged  the 
dogs  to  their  full  speed.  They  flew  across  the  yielding  fragments  to  the  field 
on  which  we  had  been  stranded,  and  safely  reached  a  part  of  it  of  firmer  charac- 
ter, on  which  were  several  hummocks,  where  the  dogs  immediately  ceased  run- 
ning, conscious,  apparently,  that  the  danger  was  past.  We  were  saved !  We 
jo}-£ully  embraced  each  other,  and  united  in  thanks  to  God  for  our  preservation 
from  such  imminent  peril." 

But  their  misfortunes  did  not  end  here ;  they  were  cut  of£  from  the  deposit 
of  their  provisions  ;  they  were  360  versts  from  their  nearest  magazines,  and  the 
food  for  the  dogs  was  now  barely  sufficient  for  three  days.  Their  joy  may  be 
imagined  when,  after  a  few  versts'  travelling,  they  fell  in  with  Matiuschkin  and 
his  party,  bringing  with  them  an  abundant  supply  of  provisions  of  all  kinds. 
To  leave  nothing  undone  which  could  possibly  be  effected,  Wrangell  ad- 


WRANGELL.  243 

vanced  to  the  eastward  along  the  coast,  past  Cape  North,  seen  in  Cook's  last 
voyage,  and  proceeded  as  far  as  Koliutschin  Island,  where  he  found  some  Tchuk- 
tchi,  who  had  come  over  from  Bering's  Straits  to  trade. 

With  this  journey  terminated  Wrangell's  laboi's  on  the  coasts,  or  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  Polar  Sea,  and,  at  the  beginning  of  the  following  winter,  we  find 
him  taking  a  final  leave  of  Nishne-Kolymsk.  On  January  10, 1824,  he  arrived 
at  Jakutsk,  and  a  few  months  later  at  Peter^urg.  If  we  consider  the  diffi- 
culties he  had  to  encounter,  and  his  untiring  zeal  and  courage  in  the  midst  of 
privations  and  dangers,  it  is  only  fair  to  admit  that  his  name  deserves  to  be 
ranked  among  the  most  distinguished  explorers  of  the  Arctic  world. 


244  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  TUNGUSI. 

Their  Relationship  to  the  Mantchou.  —  Dreadful  Condition  of  the  outcast  Nomads.  —  Character  of 
the  Tungusi. — Theii-  Outfit  for  the  Chase. — Bear-hunting. — Dwellings. — Diet. — A  Night's  Halt  with 
Tungusi  in  the  Forest. — Ochotsk. 

THOUGH  both  belonging  to  the  same  stock,  the  fate  of  the  Tungusi  and 
Mantchou  has  been  very  different ;  for  at  the  same  time  when  the  latter 

**  conquered  the  vast  Chinese  Empire,  the  former,  after  having  spread  over  the 
greatest  part  of  East  Siberia,  and  driven  before  them  the  Jakuts,  the  Jukahiri, 
the  Tchuktchi,  and  many  other  aboriginal  tribes,  were  in  their  turn  subjugated 
by  the  mightier  Russians.  In  the  year  1640  the  Cossacks  first  encountered 
the  Tungusi,  and  in  1644  the  first  Mantchou  emperor  mounted  the  Chinese 
throne.  The  same  race  which  here  imposes  its  yoke  upon  millions  of  subjects, 
there  falls  a  prey  to  a  small  number  of  adventurers.     However  strange  the 

•  fact,  it  is,  however,  easily  explained,  for  the  Chinese  were  worse  armed  and  less 
disciplined  than  the  Mantchou,  while  the  Tungusi  had  nothing  but  bows  and 
arrows  to  oppose  to  the  Cossack  fire-arms ;  and  history  (from  Alexander  the 
Great  to  Sadowa)  teaches  us  that  victory  constantly  sides  with  the  best 
weapons. 

In  their  intellectual  development  we  find  the  same  difference  as  in  their 
fortunes  between  the  Mantchou  and  the  Siberian  Tungusi.  Two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago  the  former  were  still  nomads,  like  their  northern  kinsfolk,  and 
could  neither  read  nor  write,  and  already  they  have  a  rich  literature,  and  their 
language  is  spoken  at  the  court  of  Peking  ;  while  the  Tungusi,  oppressed  and 
sunk  in  poverty,  are  still  as  ignorant  as  when  they  first  encountered  the  Cos- 
sacks. 

According  to  their  occupations,  and  the  various  domestic  animals  employed 
by  them,  they  are  distinguished  by  the  names  of  Reindeer,  Horse,  Dog,  For- 
est, and  River  Tungusi ;  but  although  they  are  found  from  the  basins  of  the 
Upper,  Middle,  and  Lower  Tunguska  to  the  western  shores  of  the  Sea  of 
Ochotsk,  and  from  the  Chinese  frontiers  and  the  Baikal  to  the  Polar  Ocean, 
their  whole  number  does  not  amount  to  more  than  30,000,  and  diminishes  from 
year  to  year,  in  consequence  of  the  ravages  of  the  small-pox  and  other  epidem- 
ic disorders  transmitted  to  them  by  the  Russians.  Only  a  few  rear  horses  and 
cattle,  the  reindeer  being  generally  their  domestic  animal ;  and  the  impover- 
ished Tunguse,  who  has  been  deprived  of  his  herd  by  some  contagious  disor- 
der or  the  ravages  of  the  wolves,  lives  as  a  fisherman  on  the  borders  of  a  river, 
assisted  by  his  dog,  or  retires  into  the  forests  as  a  promyschlenik,  or  hunter. 
Of  the  miseries  which  here  await  him,  Wrangell  relates  a  melancholy  instance. 
In  a  solitary  hut  in  one  of  the  dreariest  wildernesses  imaginable,  he  found  a 


THE   TUNGUSI.  245 

Tunguse  and  his  daughter.  While  the  father,  with  his  long  snow-shoes,  was 
pursixing  a  reindeer  for  several  days  together,  this  unfortunate  girl  remained 
alone  and  helpless  in  the  hut — which  even  in  summer  aiforded  but  an  imperfect 
shelter  against  the  rain  and  wind — exposed  to  the  cold,  and  frequently  to  hun- 
ger, and  without  the  least  occupation.  No  wonder  that  the  imi)Overished 
Tungusi  not  seldom  sink  into  cannibalism.  Neither  the  reindeer  nor  the  dogs, 
nor  the  wives  and  children  of  their  more  fortunate  countrymen,  are  secure  from 
the  attacks  and  voracity  of  these  outcasts,  who,  in  their  turn,  are  treated  like 
wild  beasts,  and  destroyed  without  mercy.  A  bartering  trade  is,  however, 
carried  on  with  them,  but  only  at  a  distance,  and  by  signs ;  each  party  depos- 
iting its  goods,  and  following  every  motion  of  the  other  with  a  susjjicious  eye. 

The  Russian  Government,  anxious  to  relieve  the  misery  of  the  impoverished 
nomads,  has  given  orders  to  settle  them  along  the  river-banks,  and  to  provide 
them  with  the  necessary  fishing  implements ;  but  only  extreme  wretchedness 
can  induce  the  Tunguse  to  relinquish  the  free  life  of  the  forest.  His  careless 
temper,  his  ready  wit,  and  spi'ightly  manner,  distinguish  him  fi'om  the  other 
Siberian  tribes — the  gloomy  Samoiede,  the  uncouth  Ostiak,  the  reserved  Jakut 
— but  he  is  said  to  be  full  of  deceit  and  malice.  His  vanity  shows  itself  in  the 
quantity  of  glass  beads  with  which  he  decorates  his  dress  of  reindeer  leather, 
from  his  small  Tartar  cap  to  the  tips  of  his  shoes.  When  chasing  or  travelling 
on  his  reindeer  through  the  woods,  he  of  course  lays  aside  most  of  his  finery, 
and  puts  on  large  water-tight  boots,  or  sai'i,  well  greased  with  fat,  to  keep  off 
the  wet  of  the  morass.  His  hunting  apparatus  is  extremely  simple.  A  small 
axe,  a  kettle,  a  leathern  bag  containing  some  dried  fish,  a  dog,  a  short  gun,  or 
merely  a  bow  and  a  sling,  is  all  he  requires  for  his  expeditions  into  the  forest. 
With  the  assistance  of  his  long  and  narrow  snow-shoes,  he  flies  over  the  daz- 
zling plain,  and  protects  his  eyes,  like  the  Jakut,  with  a  net  made  of  black 
horse-hair.  He  never  hesitates  to  attack  the  bear  single-handed,  and  generally 
masters  him.  The  nomad  Tunguse  naturally  requires  a  movable  dwelling. 
His  tent  is  covered  with  leather,  or  large  pieces  of  pliable  bark,  which  are  easi- 
ly rolled  up  and  transported  from  place  to  place.  The  yourt  of  the  sedentary 
Tunguse  resembles  that  of  the  Jakut,  and  is  so  small  that  it  can  be  very 
quickly  and  thoroughly  warmed  by  a  fire  kindled  on  the  stone  hearth  in  the 
centre.  In  his  food  the  Tunguse  is  by  no  means  dainty.  One  of  his  favorite 
dishes  consists  of  the  contents  of  a  reindeer's  stomach  mixed  with  wild  berries, 
and  spread  out  in  thin  cakes  on  the  rind  of  trees,  to  be  dried  in  the  air  or  in 
the  sun.  Those  who  have  settled  on  the  Wiluj  and  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Nertschinsk,  likewise  consume  large  quantities  of  brick  tea,  which  they  boil 
with  fat  and  berries  into  a  thick  porridge,  and  this  unwholesome  food  adds  no 
doubt  to  the  yellowness  of  their  complexion. 

But  few  of  the  Tungusi  have  been  converted  to  Christianity,  the  majority 
being  still  addicted  to  Shamanism.  They  do  not  like  to  bury  their  dead,  but 
place  them,  in  their  holiday  dresses,  in  large  chests,  which  they  hang  up  be- 
tween two  trees.  The  hunting  apparatus  of  the  deceased  is  buried  beneath 
the  chest.  No  ceremonies  are  used  on  the  occasion,  except  when  a  Shaman 
happens  to  be  in  the  neighborhood,  when  a  reindeer  is  sacrificed,  on  whose 


246  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

flesh  the  sorcerer  and  the  relations  regale  themselves,  while  the  spirits  to 
whom  the  animal  is  sni^posed  to  be  offered  are  obliged  to  content  themselves 
with  the  smell  of  the  burnt  fat.  As  among  the  Samoiedes  or  the  Ostiaks, 
woman  is  a  marketable  ware  among  the  Tungusi.  The  father  gives  his  daugh- 
ter in  marriage  for  twenty  or  a  hundred  reindeer,  or  the  bridegroom  is  obliged 
to  earn  her  hand  by  a  long  period  of  service. 

In  East  Siberia  the  Tungusi  divide  with  the  Jakuts  the  task  of  conveying 
goods  or  travellei-s  through  the  forests,  and  afford  the  stranger  frequent  op- 
portunities for  admiring  their  agility  and  good-humor.  On  halting  after  a 
day's  journey,  the  reindeer  are  unpacked  in  an  instant,  the  saddles  and  the 
goods  ranged  orderly  on  the  ground,  and  the  bridles  collected  and  hung  on 
branches  of  trees.  The  hungry  animals  soon  disappear  in  the  thicket,  where 
the}'-  are  left  to  provide  for  themselves.  The  men,  who  meanwhile  have  been 
busy  with  their  axes,  drag  a  larch-tree  or  two  to  the  place  of  encampment. 
The  smaller  branches  are  lopped  off  and  collected  to  sei've  as  beds  or  seats 
upon  the  snow,  while  the  resinous  wood  of  the  larger  trunks  is  soon  kindled 
into  a  lively  fire.  The  kettle,  filled  with  snow,  is  suspended  from  a  strong 
fo'rked  branch  placed  obliquely  in  the  ground  over  the  fire,  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes the  tea  is  ready — for  the  Tungusi  proceed  every  evening  according  to  the 
same  method,  and  are  consequently  as  expert  as  long  and  invariable  practice 
can  make  them.  Comfortably  seated  on  his  reindeer  saddle,  the  traveller  may 
now  amuse  himself  with  the  dances,  which  the  Tungusi  accompany  with  an 
agreeable  song;  or  if  he  choose  to  witness  their  agility  in  athletic  exercises,  it 
only  costs  him  a  word  of  encouragement,  and  a  small  donation  of  brandy.  Two 
of  the  Tungusi  hold  a  rope,  and  swing  it  with  all  their  might,  so  that  it  does 
not  touch  the  ground.  Meanwhile  a  third  Tunguse  skips  over  the  roj^e,  picks 
up  a  bow  and  arrow  spans  the  bow  and  shoots  the  arrow,  without  once  touch- 
ing the  rope.  Some  particularly  bold  and  expert  Tungusi  will  dance  over  a 
sword  which  a  person  lying  on  his  ba.ck  on  the  ground  is  swinging  about 
with  the  greatest  rapidity.  Should  our  traveller  be  a  friend  of  chess,  the  Tun- 
gusi are  equally  at  his  service,  as  they  are  passionately  fond  of  this  noblest  of 
games,  especially  in  the  Kolymsk  district.  Like  all  other  Siberian  nomads, 
they  visit  at  least  once  a  year  the  various  fairs  which  are  held  in  the  small 
towns  scattered  here  and  there  over  their  immense  territory — such  as  Kirensk, 
Olekminsk,  Bargusin,  Tschita,  and  Ochotsk,  which,  before  the  oi^ening  of  the 
Amoor  to  trade,  was  the  chief  port  of  East  Siberia. 

Ochotsk  is  one  of  the  dreariest  places  imaginable ;  at  least  no  traveller  who 
ever  visited  it  has  a  word  to  say  in  its  favor.  Not  a  single  tree  grows  for 
miles  and  miles  around,  and  the  wretched  huts  of  which  the  town  is  composed 
lie  in  the  midst  of  a  swamp,  which  in  summer  is  a  fruitful  source  of  malaria 
and  pestilence.  The  River  Ochota,  at  whose  mouth  Ochotsk  is  situated,  does 
not  break  up  before  the  end  of  May,  and  the  ice-masses  continue  to  pass  the 
town  till  the  15th  or  20th  of  June.  Soon  after  begins  the  most  unpleasant  time 
of  all  the  year,  or  "  buss  "  of  the  Siberians,  characterized  by  thick  fog  and  a  per- 
petual drizzling  rain.  The  weather  clears  up  in  July,  but  as  early  as  August 
the  night-frosts  cover  the  earth  with  rime.     Salmon,  of  which  no  less  than 


THE   TUNGUSI.  247 

fourteen  different  species  live  in  the  Sea  of  Ochotsk,  are  the  only  food  which  the 
neighborhood  affords ;  all  other  necessaries  of  life  come  from  Jakutsk,  and  are 
of  course  enormously  dear.  Meat  ai^pears  only  from  time  to  time  on  the  ta- 
bles of  the  wealthier  merchants,  and  bread  is  an  article  of  luxury.  No  won- 
der that  the  scurvy  ravages  every  winter  a  place  so  ill-provisioned,  and  that 
at  the  time  when  the  first  caravan  of  pack-horses  is  expected  to  cross  the  Al- 
dan Mountains,  the  people  of  Ochotsk,  unable  to  restrain  their  impatience,  go 
out  a  long  way  to  meet  it.  As  the  former  trade  of  the  place  has  now  no  doubt 
been  transferred  to  the  settlements  on  the  Amoor,  it  may  well  be  supposed 
that  Ochotsk  has  lost  most  of  its  former  inhabitants,  who  can  only  be  con- 
o-ratulated  on  their  chano;e  of  residence. 


248 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


BERING'S  MONUMENT  AT  PETROPAULOVSK. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

GEORGE  WILLIAM  STELLER, 

His  Birth. — Enters  the  Russian  Service. — Scientific  Journey  to  Kamchatka. — Accompanies  Bering  on  his 
second  Voyage  of  Discovery. — Lands  on  the  Island  of  Kaial<. — Shameful  Conduct  of  Bering. — Sliip- 
wreck  on  Bering  Island. — Bering's  Death. — Return  to  Kamchatka. — Loss  of  Property'. — Persecutions 
of  the  Siberian  Authorities. — Frozen  to  Death  at  Tjunien. 

GEORGE  WILLIAM  STELLER,  one  of  the  most  distinguislied  natural- 
ists of  the  past  century,  was  born  at  Winsheira,  a  small  town  in  Fran- 
conia,  in  the  year  1709.  After  completing  his  studies  at  the  universities  of 
Wittenberg  and  Halle,  he  turned  his  thoughts  to  Russia,  which,  since  the  re- 
forms of  Czar  Peter  the  Great,  and  the  protection  which  that  monarch  and  his 
successors  afforded  to  German  learning,  had  become  the  land  of  promise  for 
all  adventurous  spirits/ 

Having  been  appointed  surgeon  in  the  Russian  array,  which  at  that  time  was 
besieging  Danzig,  he  went  with  a  transport  of  wounded  soldiers,  after  tlie  sur- 
render of  that  town,  to  St.  Petersburg,  where  he  arrived  in  1734.  Here  his 
talents  were  soon  appreciated ;  after  a  few  years  he  was  named  a  member  of 
the  Imperial  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  sent  by  GoA'ernment,  in  1738,  to  exam- 
ine the  natural  productions  of  Kamchatka.  The  ability  and  zeal  Avith  which 
he  fulfilled  tliis  mission  is  proved  by  the  valuable  collections  which  he  sent  to 
the  Academy,  and  by  his  numerous  memoirs,  which  are  still  read  with  interest 
in  the  present  day. 

In  1741  he  accompanied  Bering  on  his  second  voyage  of  discovery,  the  ob- 
ject of  which  was  to  determine  the  distance  of  America  from  Kamchatka,  and 
to  ascertain  the  separation  or  the  junction  of  both  continents  in  a  higher 


GEORGE   WILLIAM  STELLER.  249 

latitude  —  a  question  which  his  first  voyage  had  left  undecided.  Notliincr 
could  be  more  agreeable  to  a  man  like  Steller,  than  the  prospects  held  out 
to  him  by  an  expedition  to  unknown  regions ;  and  we  can  easily  imagine  tlie 
delight  with  which  the  naturalist  embarked  on  board  of  the  "  Saint  Peter," 
commanded  by  Bering  in  person.  Accompanied  by  the  "  Saint  Paul,"  under 
Tschirigow,  they  sailed  on  June  4  from  the  Bay  of  Avatscha. 

The  expedition  had  cost  ten  years  of  preparation,  and  brought  misery  and 
ruin  upon  many  of  the  wild  Siberian  tribes,  for  all  that  was  necessary  for  the 
outfit  had  to  be  conveyed  by  compulsory  labor  from  the  interior  of  the  conti- 
nent over  mountains  and  rivers,  through  dense  forests  and  pathless  wilds,  and 
it  seemed  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  voyage  as  if  the  curses  of  the  unfor- 
tunate natives  clung  to  it.  Much  valuable  time  had  been  lost,  for  the  ships 
ought  to  have  sailed  at  least  a  month  earlier,  and  Bering,  who  from  illness  con- 
stantly kept  to  his  cabin,  was  by  no  means  a  fit  commander  for  a  scientific  ex- 
pedition. 

After  a  few  days  a  dense  fog  separated  the  vessels,  which  were  never  to  meet 
again ;  and  as  the  "  St.  Peter  "  held  her  course  too  much  to  the  south,  the  Aleu- 
tic  chain  remained  undiscovered,  and  the  first  land  was  only  sighted  after  four 
weeks  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bering's  Bay.  During  the  whole  of  this  passage 
Steller  had  to  endure  all  the  vexations  Avhich  arrogant  stupidity  could  inflict 
upon  a  man  anxious  to  do  his  duty.  It  was  in  vain  that  he  repeatedly  pointed 
out  the  signs  which  indicated  the  presence  of  land  not  far  to  the  north,  in  vain 
that  he  entreated  the  commander  to  steer  but  one  day  in  that  direction.  At 
last,  on  July  15,  the  high  mountains  of  America  were  seen  to  rise  above  the 
horizon,  and  the  vessel  anchored  on  the  19th  near  to  the  small  island  of  Kaiak. 

On  the  following  day  a  boat  was  sent  out  to  fetch  some  fresh  water,  but  it 
was  with  the  utmost  difticulty  that  Steller  could  obtain  permission  to  join  tlie 
party.  All  assistance  was  obstinately  denied  him,  and  accompanied  by  his 
only  servant,  a  Cossack,  he  landed  on  the  unknown  shore,  eager  to  make  the 
most  of  the  short  time  allotted  him  for  his  researches.  He  immediately  di- 
rected his  steps  towards  the  interior,  and  had  scarcely  walked  a  mile  when 
he  discovered  the  hollowed  trunk  of  a  tree,  in  which,  a  few  hours  before, 
the  savages  had  boiled  their  meat  with  red-hot  stones.  He  also  found  several 
pots  filled  with  esculent  herbs,  and  a  wooden  instrument  for  making  fire,  like 
those  which  are  used  by  the  inhabitants  of  Kamchatka.  Hence  he  conjectured 
that  the  aborigines  of  this  part  of  the  American  coast  must  be  of  the  same  ori- 
gin as  the  Kamchatkans,  and  that  both  countries  must  necessarily  approach 
each  other  towards  the  north,  as  the  inhabitants  could  not  possibly  traverse 
such  vast  extents  of  ocean  in  their  rudely-constructed  boats. 

Pursuing  his  way,  Steller  now  came  to  a  path  which  led  into  a  dense  and 
shady  forest.  Before  entering,  he  strictly  forbade  his  Cossack  to  act  without 
commands,  in  case  of  a  hostile  encounter.  The  Cossack  had  a  gun,  Avith  a  knife 
and  hatchet;  Steller  himself  only  a  Jakut  poniard,  which  he  had  taken  witli 
him  to  dig  out  plants  or  stones.  After  half  an  hour's  walking,  they  came  to  a 
place  strewn  with  grass.  This  was  immediately  removed,  and  a  roof  or  plat- 
form discovered,  consisting  of  strij)s  of  bark  laid  u2)on  poles  and  covered  with 


350  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

stones.  This  platform  opened  into  a  cellar  containing  a  large  quantity  of 
smoked  fishes,  and  a  few  bundles  of  the  inner  bark  of  the  larch  or  fir  tree, 
which,  in  case  of  necessity,  serves  as  food  throughout  all  Siberia.  There  were 
also  some  arrows,  dyed  black  and  smoothed,  of  a  size  far  superior  to  those 
used  in  Kamchatka. 

After  Steller,  in  spite  of  the  danger  of  being  surprised  by  the  savages,  had 
accurately  examined  the  contents  of  the  cellar,  he  sent  his  Cossack  back  again 
to  the  place  where  the  boatmen  were  watering.  He  gave  him  specimens  of 
the  various  articles  which  he  had  found,  ordering  him  to  take  them  to  Cap- 
tain Bering,  and  to  request  that  two  or  three  men  might  be  sent  to  him  for 
further  assistance.  In  the  mean  time,  though  quite  alone,  he  continued  his 
investigations  of  the  strange  land,  and  having  reached  the  summit  of  a  hill, 
he  saw  smoke  rising  from  a  forest  at  some  distance.  Overjoyed  at  the  sight, 
for  he  now  could  hope  to  meet  with  the  natives  and  to  complete  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  island,  he  instantly  returned  to  the  landing-place  with  all  the 
eagerness  of  a  man  who  has  something  important  to  communicate ;  and  as 
the  boat  was  just  about  to  leave,  told  the  sailors  to  inform  the  captain  of  his 
discovery,  and  to  beg  that  the  small  pinnace,  with  a  detachment  of  armed 
men,  might  be  sent  out  to  him. 

Meanwhile,  exhausted  with  fatigue,  he  sat  down  on  the  beach,  where  he 
described  in  his  pocket-book  some  of  the  more  delicate  plants  he  had  collect- 
ed, which  he  feared  might  speedily  wither,  and  regaled  himself  Avith  the  ex- 
cellent water.  After  Avaiting  for  about  an  hour,  he  at  length  received  an  an- 
swer from  Bering,  telling  him  to  return  immediately  on  board,  unless  he  chose 
to  be  left  behind ;  and  w^e  can  easily  imagine  the  indignation  of  the  disap- 
pointed naturalist  at  this  shameful  command. 

On  the  morning  of  July  21,  Bering,  contrary  to  his  custom,  appeared  on 
deck,  ordered  the  anchors  to  be  weighed,  and  gave  directions  to  sail  back 
again  on  the  same  course.  The  continent  he  had  discovered  was  not  even 
honored  with  a  single  visit,  so  that  Steller  could  not  help  telling  the  Russians 
they  had  merely  come  thus  far  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  American  water  to 
Asia.  Any  conscientious  commander  would  have  continued  to  sail  along  the 
unknown  shore,  or,  considering  that  the  season  was  alreadyfar  advanced,  would 
have  determined  to  winter  there,  and  to  pursue  his  discoveries  next  spring ; 
but,  unfortunately  for  Bering  and  his  companions,  the  course  he  adopted 
proved  as  disastrous  as  it  Avas  dishonorable. 

Three  months  long  the  ship  was  tossed  about  by  contrary  winds  and 
storms ;  the  islands  of  the  Aleutic  chain,  though  frequently  seen  through  the 
mists,  Avere  but  seldom  visited ;  the  scurvy  broke  out  among  the  dispirited, 
ill-fed  crcAv,  their  misery  increased  from  day  to  day,  and  their  joy  may  be  im- 
agined when  at  length,  on  November  5,  a  land  was  seen  which  they  firmly 
believed  to  be  Kamchatka— though  in  reality  it  was  merely  the  desert  of 
Bering's  Island,  situated  a  hundred  miles  from  that  peninsula.  Even  those 
who  Avere  nearly  half  dead  crept  upon  deck  to  enjoy  the  Avelcome  sight ;  every 
one  thanked  God,  and  the  ignorant  officer,  convinced  that  they  were  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Bay  of  Avatscha,  even  named  the  several  mountains ;  but 


GEORGE   WILLIAM   STELLER.  251 

• 

their  mistake  soon  became  apparent  wlien,  on  rounding  a  small  promontory, 
some  well-known  islets  were  missed.  As  they  had  no^  doubt,  however,  that 
the  land  was  really  Kamchatka,  and  the  bad  weather  and  the  small  number 
of  hands  fit  to  do  duty  rendering  it  difficult  to  reach  the  Gulf  of  Avatscha, 
it  w^as  resolved  to  run  into  the  bay  that  lay  before  them,  and  to  send  notice 
from  thence  to  Nishne-Kamchatsk  of  their  safe  arrival. 

Steller  was  among  the  first  to  land,  and  probably  the  very  first  of  the 
party  who  discovered  the  mistake  of  the  excellent  navigators  to  whom  the 
expedition  had  been  intrusted.  Sea-otters  came  swimming  to  him  from  the 
land,  and  he  well  knew  that  these  much-persecuted  animals  had  long  since 
disappeared  from  the  coast  of  Kamchatka.  The  number  of  Arctic  foxes,  too, 
who  showed  no  fear  at  his  approach,  and  the  sea-cows  gambolling  in  the 
water,  were  sure  signs  that  the  foot  of  man  had  not  often  trodden  this  shore. 
Steller  was  also  the  first  to  set  the  good  example  of  making  the  best  of  a 
bad  situation,  instead  of  uselessly  bewailing  his  misfortunes.  He  began  to 
erect  a  hut  for  the  following  winter,  and  formed  an  association  with  several 
of  the  crew,  who,  whatever  might  await  them,  promised  to  ^tand  by  each 
other. 

During  the  following  days  the  sick  were  gradually  conveyed  on  shore. 
Some  of  them  died  on  board  as  soon  as  they  were  brought  into  the  open  air, 
others  in  the  boat,  others  as  soon  as  they  were  landed.  "  On  all  sides,"  says 
Steller,  in  his  interesting  account  of  this  ill-fated  voyage,  "  nothing  was  to  be 
seen  but  misery.  Before  the  dead  could  be  buried,  they  were  mangled  by  the 
foxes,  who  even  ventured  to  approach  the  helpless  invalids  who  were  lying 
without  cover  on  the  beach.  Some  of  these  wretched  sufterers  bitterly  com- 
plained of  the  cold,  others  of  hunger  and  thirst— for  many  had  their  gums  so 
swollen  and  ulcerated  with  the  scurvy  as  to  be  unable  to  eat."  • 

"  On  November  13,"  continues  the  naturalist,  "  I  went  out  hunting  for  the 
first  time  with  Messieurs  Plenisner  and  Betge ;  we  killed  four  sea-otters,  and 
did  not  return  before  night.  We  ate  their  flesh  thankfully,  and  prayed  to 
God  that  He  might  continue  to  provide  us  with  this  excellent  food.  Tlic 
costly  skins,  on  the  other  hand,  were  of  no  value  in  our  eyes ;  the  only  ob- 
jects which  we  now  esteemed  were  knives,  needles,  thread,  ropes,  etc.,  on 
which  before  we  had  not  bestowed  a  thought.  We  all  saw  that  rank,  sci- 
ence, and  other  social  distinctions  were  now  of  no  avail,  and  could  not  in  any 
way  contribute  to  our  preservation :  we  therefore  resolved,  before  we  were 
forced  to  do  so  by  necessity,  to  set  to  work  at  once.  We  introduced  among 
us  five  a  community  of  goods,  and  regulated  our  housekeeping  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  not  to  be  in  want  before  the  winter  was  over.  Our  three  Cossacks 
were  obliged  to  obey  our  orders,  when  we  had  decided  upon  something  in 
common ;  but  we  began  to  treat  them  with  greater  politeness,  calling  them 
by  their  names  and  surnames,  and  we  soon  found  that  Peter  Maximowitsch 
served  us  with  more  alacrity  than  formerly  Petrucha  (a  diminutive  of  Peter). 

"  Nov.  14. — The  whole  ship's  company  was  formed  into  three  parties.  The 
one  had  to  convey  the  sick  and  provisions  from  the  ship ;  the  second  brought 
wood ;  the  third,  consisting  of  a  lame  sailor  and  myself,  remained  at  home— 


253  TIIE   POLxVR   WORLD. 

the  former  busy  making  a  sledge,  while  I  acted  as  cook.  As  our  party  was 
the  first  to  organize  a^household,  I  also  performed  the  duty  of  bringing  warm 
soup  to  some  of  our  sick,  until  they  had  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able  to  help 
themselves. 

"  The  barracks  being  this  day  ready  to  receive  the  sick,  many  of  them 
were  transported  under  roof;  but  for  want  of  room,  they  lay  everywhere  on 
the  ground,  covered  with  rags  and  clothes.  No  one  could  assist  the  other, 
and  nothing  was  heard  but  lamentations  and  curses — the  whole  afibrding  so 
wretched  a  sight,  as  to  make  even  the  stoutest  heart  lose  courage.  On 
November  15  all  the  sick  were  at  length  landed.  "We  took  one  of  them, 
named  Boris  Siiud,  into  our  hut,  and  by  God's  help  he  recovered  within  three 
months. 

"  The  following  days  added  to  our  misery,  as  the  messengers  we  had  sent 
out  brought  us  the  intelligence  that  we  were  on  a  desert  island,  without  any 
communication  with  Kamchatka.  We  were  also  in  constant  fear  that  the 
stormy  weather  might  drive  our  ship  out  to  sea,  and  along  with  it  all  our 
provisions,  an(jl  every  hope  of  ever  returning  to  our  homes.  Sometimes  it  was 
impossible  to  get  to  the  vessel  for  several  days  together,  so  boisterous  was 
the  surge  ;  and  about  ten  or  twelve  men,  who  had  hitherto  been  able  to  work, 
now  also  fell  ill.  Want,  nakedness,  frost,  rain,  illness,  impatience,  and  de- 
spair, were  our  daily  companions." 

Fortunately  the  stormy  sea  drove  the  ship  upon  the  strand,  better  than  it 
could  probably  have  been  done  by  human  efforts.  Successively  many  of  the 
scorbutic  patients  died,  and  on  December  8  the  unfortunate  commander  of 
the  expedition  paid  his  debt  to  nature. 

Titus  Bering,  by  birth  a  Dane,  had  served  thirty-six  years  with  distinc. 
tion  in  the  Russian  navy,  but  age  and  infirmities  had  completely  damj^ed  his 
energies,  and  his  death  is  a  Avarning  to  all  Avho  enter  upon  undertakings 
above  their  strength. 

In  the  mean  time  the  whole  ship's  company  had  established  itself  for  tlie 
winter  in  five  subterranean  dwellings  ;  the  general  health  was  visibly  im- 
proving, merely  by  means  of  the  excellent  water,  and  by  the  fresh  meat  fur- 
nished by  sea-otters,  seals,  and  manatees ;  and  the  only  care  now  was  to  gain 
sufficient  strength  to  be  able  to  undertake  the  work  of  deliverance  in  spring. 

In  April  the  shipwrecked  mariners  began  to  build  a  smaller  ship  out  of  the 
timbers  of  the  "  St.  Peter,"  and,  such  was  the  alacrity  with  which  all  hands 
set  to  work,  that  on  August  13  they  were  able  to  set  out. 

"When  we  were  all  embarked,"  says  Steller,  "we  first  perceived  how 
much  we  should  be  inconvenienced  for  want  of  room ;  the  water-casks,  pro- 
visions, and  baggage  taking  up  so  much  space,  that  our  forty-two  men  (the 
three  ship's  officers  and  myself  were  somewhat  better  off  in  the  cabin)  could 
hardly  creep  between  them  and  the  deck.  A  great  quantity  of  the  bedding 
and  clothing  had  to  be  thrown  overboard.  Meanwhile  we  saw  the  foxes 
sporting  about  our  deserted  huts,  and  greedily  devouring  remnants  of  fat 
and  meat. 

"On  the  14th,  in  the  morning,  we  weighed  anchor,  and  steered  out  of  the 


GEORGE   WILLIA^I   STELLER.  053 

bay.  The  weather  being  beautiful,  and  the  wind  favorable,  we  were  all  in 
good  spirits,  and,  as  we  sailed  along  the  island,  pointed  out  to  each  other  the 
well-known  mountains  and  valleys  which  we  had  frequently  visited  in  quest 
of  game  or  for  the  pui-pose  of  reconnoitring.  Towards  evening  we  were  op- 
posite the  farthest  point  of  the  island,  and  on  the  15th,  the  wind  continuing 
favorable,  we  steered  direct  towards  the  Bay  of  Avatscha.  About  midnight, 
however,  we  perceived,  to  our  great  dismay,  that  the  vessel  began  to  fill  with 
water  from  an  unknown  leak,  which,  in  consequence  of  the  crowded  and 
overloaded  state  of  the  vessel,  it  was  extremely  difficult  to  find  out.  The 
pumps  were  soon  choked  by  the  shavings  left  in  the  hold,  and  the  danger 
rapidly  increased,  as  the  wind  was  strong  and  the  vessel  badly  built.  The 
sails  were  immediately  taken  in ;  some  of  the  men  removed  the  baggage  to 
look  for  the  leak,  othei-s  kept  continually  pouring  out  the  water  with  kettles, 
while  others  again  cast  all  superfluous  articles  overboard.  At  length,  after 
the  lightening  of  the  ship,  the  carpenter  succeeded  in  stopping  the  leak,  and 
thus  we  were  once  more  saved  from  imminent  danger.  ...  On  the  17th  we 
sighted  Kamchatka,  but  as  the  wind  was  contrary,  we  did  not  enter  the  har- 
bor before  the  evening  of  the  27th. 

"In  spite  of  the  joy  we  all  felt  at  our  deliverance,  yet  the  news  we  heard 
on  our  arrival  awakened  in  us  a  host  of  conflicting  emotions.  We  had  been 
given  up  for  lost,  and  all  our  property  had  passed  into  other  hands,  and  been 
mostly  carried  away  beyond  hope  of  recovery.  Hence  joy  and  sorrow  alter- 
nated within  a  few  moments  in  our  minds,  though  we  were  all  so  accustomed 
to  privation  and  misery,  as  hardly  to  feel  the  extent  of  our  losses." 

In  the  year  1744  Steller  was  ordered  to  return  to  St.  Petersburg ;  but  his 
candor  had  made  him  powerful  enemies.  Having  reached  Novgorod,  and  re- 
joicing in  the  idea  of  once  more  mixing  with  the  civilized  world,  he  was  sud- 
denly ordered  to  appear  before  the  imperial  court  of  justice  at  Irkutsk,  on  the 
charge  of  having  treacherously  sold  powder  to  the  enemies  of  Russia.  Thus 
obliged  to  return  once  more  into  the  depths  of  Siberia,  he  Avas  at  length  dis- 
missed by  his  judges,  after  waiting  a  whole  year  for  their  verdict. 

Once  more  on  his  way  to  St.  Petersburg,  he  had  already  reached  Moscow, 
when  he  was  again  summoned  to  appear  Avithout  delay  before  the  court  of 
Irkutsk.  A  journey  to  Siberia  is,  under  all  circumstances,  an  arduous  under- 
taking ;  what,  then,  must  have  been  Steller's  feelings  when,  instead  of  enjoy- 
ing the  repose  he  had  so  well  merited,  he  saw  himself  obliged  to  retrace  his 
steps  for  the  fourth  time,  for  the  purpose  of  vindicating  his  conduct  before  a 
rascally  tribunal  ?  On  a  very  cold  day  his  Cossack  guards  stopped  to  re- 
fresh themselves  with  some  brandy  at  an  inn  by  the  road-side,  and  Steller, 
who  remained  in  the  sledge  waiting  for  their  return,  fell  asleep,  and  was 
frozen  to  death. 

He  lies  buried  near  the  town  of  Tjumen,  and  no  monument  apprises  the 
naturalist,  whom  the  love  of  knowledge  may  lead  into  the  Siberian  wilds,  that 
his  unfortunate  predecessor  was  thus  basely  requited  after  years  of  exertion 
in  the  interests  of  science. 


354 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


CHURCH  AT  PETKOPAVLOSK. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

KAMCHATKA. 

Climate. — Fertility. — Luxuriant  Vegetation. — Fish. — Sea-birds. — Kamchatkan  Bird-catchers. — The  Bay 
of  Avatscha. — Petropaylosk. — The  Kamchatkans. — Their  physical  and  moral  Qualities. — The  Fr'i- 
tillaria  Sarrana. — The  Muchamor. — Bears. — Dogs. 

T^HE  peninsula  of  Kamchatka,  though  numbering  no  more  than  6000  or  7000 
-*-  inhabitants,  on  a  surface  equalling  Great  Britain  in  extent,  has  so  many 
natural  resources  that  it  could  easily  maintain  a  far  greater  number.  The  cli- 
mate is  much  more  temperate  and  uniform  than  that  of  the  interior  of  Siberia, 
being  neither  so  excessively  cold  in  winter,  nor  so  intensely  hot  in  summer ; 
and  though  the  late  and  early  night-frosts,  with  the  frequent  fogs  and  rains, 
prevent  the  cultivation  of  corn,  the  humid  air  produces  a  very  luxuriant  herba- 
ceous vegetation.  Not  only  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers  and  lakes,  but  in  the 
forest  glades,  the  grass  grows  to  a  height  of  more  than  twelve  feet,  and  many 
of  the  Compositae  and  Umbellif erae  attain  a  size  so  colossal  that  the  Heraclium 
dnlce  and  the  Senecio  cannahifoUus  not  seldom  overtop  the  rider  on  horseback. 
The  pasture-grounds  are  so  excellent  that  the  grass  can  generally  be  cut  thrice 
dui'ing  the  short  summer,  and  thus  a  comparatively  small  extent  of  land  affords 
the  winter  supply  for  all  the  cattle  of  a  hamlet.  Though  tlie  cold  winds  pre- 
vent the  growth  of  trees  along  the  coast,  the  more  inland  mountain  slopes  and 
valleys  are  clothed  with  woods  richly  stocked  with  sables  and  squirrels. 


KAMCHATKA.  255 

No  country  in  the  world  has  a  greater  abundance  of  excellent  fisheries.  In 
spring  the  salmon  ascend  the  rivers  in  such  amazing  numbers,  that  on  plunging 
a  dart  into  the  stream  one  is  almost  sure  to  strike  a  fish ;  and  Steller  affirms 
that  the  bears  and  dogs  of  Kamchatka  catch  on  the  banks  more  fish  with  their 
paws  and  mouths  than  man  in  other  countries,  with  all  his  cunning  devices  of 
net  or  angle.  As  the  various  birds  of  passage  do  not  all  wander  at  the  same 
time  to  the  north,  so  also  the  various  kinds  of  fishes  migrate,  some  sooner, 
others  later,  and  consequently  profusion  reigns  during  the  whole  of  the  summer. 
Ermann  was  astonished  at  this  incalculable  abundance  of  the  Kamchatkan  riv- 
ers, for  in  one  of  them,  when  the  water  was  only  six  inches  deep,  he  saw  multi- 
tudes of  Chaekos  {Slagocejy/ialus)  as  long  as  his  arm  partly  stranded  on  the 
banks,  partly  still  endeavoring  to  ascend  the  shallow  stream.  As  the  waters 
contain  such  an  incredible  multitude  of  fishes,  we  can  not  wonder  that  the 
rocky  coasts  of  the  peninsula  swarm  with  sea-fowl,  whose  breeding  and  roosting 
places  are  as  densely  peopled  as  any  others  in  the  world.  At  the  entrance  of  the 
Avatscha  Bay  lies  a  remarkable  labyrinth  of  rocks,  separated  from  each  other 
by  narrow  channels  of  water,  like  the  intricate  streets  of  an  old-fashioned  city. 
The  flood  has  everywhere  scooped  out  picturesque  cavities  and  passages  in 
these  stupendous  masses  of  stone,  and  the  slightest  wind  causes  the  waves  to 
beat  with  terrific  violence  against  their  feet.  Every  ledge,  platform,  and  pro- 
jection, every  niche,  hollow,  and  crevice  is  peopled  with  sea-birds  of  strange 
and  various  forms.  In  the  capture  of  these  birds  the  Kamchatkans  display  an 
intrepidity  equal  to  that  of  the  islanders  of  St.  Kilda  or  Feroe,  and  trust  solely 
to  their  astonishing  agility  in  climbing.  Barefooted,  without  ropes  or  any 
other  assistance,  they  venture  down  the  steepest  declivities,  which  are  frequent- 
ly only  accessible  from  the  top,  as  the  foaming  breakers  cut  off  all  access  from 
below.  The  left  arm  clasps  a  basket,  which  they  fill  with  eggs  as  they  advance, 
while  the  right  hand  grasps  a  short  stick  with  an  iron  hook  to  drag  the  birds 
from  the  crevices  of  the  rock.  When  a  bird  is  caught,  a  dexterous  grip  wrings 
its  neck,  and  it  is  then  attached  to  the  girdle  of  the  fowler.  In  this  manner  an 
expert  climber  will  kill  in  one  day  from  seventy  to  eighty  birds,  and  gather 
above  a  hundred  eggs. 

Thus  the  population  of  Kamchatka  is  quite  out  of  proportion  to  the  riches 
of  its  pastures  and  waters.  Its  scanty  inhabitants  are  moreover  concentrated 
on  a  few  spots  along  the  chief  rivers  and  bays,  so  that  almost  the  whole  penin- 
sula is  nothing  but  an  uninhabited  wilderness. 

Before  the  conquest  of  the  country  by  the  Russians  it  had  at  least  twenty 
times  its  present  population,  but  the  cruelty  of  the  Cossacks  and  the  ravages  of 
the  small-pox  caused  it  to  melt  away  almost  as  rapidly  as  that  of  Cuba  or  Hayti 
after  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards.  At  that  time  the  sable  and  the  sea-otter 
were  considered  of  far  greater  importance  than  man  ;  and  unfortunately  Rus- 
sia has  too  many  deserts  to  people,  before  she  can  think  of  repairing  past  er- 
rors and  sparing  inhabitants  for  this  remotest  corner  of  her  vast  Asiatic  em- 
pire. 

As  the  peninsula  is  too  distant  from  the  highways  of  the  world  to  attract 
the  tide  of  emigration,  it  is  also  seldom  visited  by  travellers.     The  few  stran- 


256  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

crers,  however,  Avho  have  sailed  along  the  coasts,  or  made  excursions  into  the  in- 
terior of  the  country,  speak  with  enthusiasm  of  the  boldness  of  its  rocky  prom- 
ontories, the  magnificence  of  its  bays  and  mountains,  and  only  regret  that 
durino-  the  greater  part  of  the  year  an  Arctic  winter  veils  the  beauties  of  the 
landscape  under  mists  and  snow. 

Throughout  its  whole  length  Kamchatka  is  traversed  by  an  Alpine  chain 
rising  in  some  of  its  peaks  to  a  height  of  14,000  or  16,500  feet,  and  numbering 
no  less  than  28  active  volcanoes  along  with  many  others  whose  fires  are  extinct. 
A  land  thus  undermined  with  subterranean  fires  must  be  possessed  of  many 
mineral  riches,  but  as  yet  no  one  has  ever  thought  of  seeking  for  them  or  put- 
ting them  to  use. 

Owing  to  the  great  humidity  of  the  climate  and  the  quantities  of  rain  at- 
tracted by  the  mountains,  Kamchatka  abounds  in  springs.  In  the  lowlands 
they  gush  forth  in  such  numbers  as  to  render  it  very  difficult  to  travel  any  dis- 
tance on  foot  or  horseback,  even  in  winter,  as  they  prevent  the  rivers  from 
freezing.  No  doubt  many  a  mineral  spring — cold,  tepid,  or  warm — that  would 
make  the  fortune  of  a  German  spa,  here  flows  unnoticed  into  the  sea. 

Kamchatka  has  many  excellent  harbors,  and  the  magnificent  Bay  of  Avatscha 
would  alone  be  able  to  afford  room  to  all  the  navies  of  the  world.  Its  steep 
rocky  shores  are  almost  everywhere  clothed  with  a  species  of  beech  {Betula 
Ermanni),  intermingled  with  luxuriant  grasses  and  herbs,  and  the  higher  slopes 
are  generally  covered  with  a  dense  underwood  of  evergreens  and  shrubs  of  de- 
ciduous foliage,  whose  changes  of  color  in  autumn  tinge  the  landscape  with  yel- 
low, Ted,  and  brown  tints.  But  the  chief  beauty  of  the  Bay  of  Avatscha  is  the 
prospect  of  the^distant  mountains,  forming  a  splendid  panorama  of  fantastic 
peaks  and  volcanic  cones,  among  which  the  Streloshnaja  Sopka  towers  pre-emi- 
nent to  the  height  of  14,000  feet.  Close  to  this  giant,  but  somewhat  nearer  to 
the  coast,  rises  the  active  volcano  of  Avatscha,  which  frequently  covers  the 
whole  country  with  ashes. 

The  vast  Bay  of  Avatscha  forms  several  minor  creeks  :  among  others  the  ha- 
ven of  St.  Peter  and  Paul,  one  of  the  finest  natural  harbors  in  the  world,  where 
the  Russians  have  established  the  seat  of  their  government  in  the  small  town  of 
Petropavlosk,  Avhich  hardly  numbers  500  inhabitants,  but  has  acquired  some 
celebrity  from  the  unsuccessful  attack  ot  the  English  and  French  forces  in  1854. 

Mr.  Knox  thus  describes  Petropavlosk :  "  To  make  a  counterfeit  Petro- 
pavlosk, take  a  log  village  in  the  backwoods  of  a  western  state  in  America, 
and  place  it  near  a  little  harbor,  where  the  ground  slopes  gently  to  the  water. 
Arrange  most  of  the  houses  along  a  single  unpaved  street,  and  drop  the  rest  in 
a  higgledy-piggledy  fashion  on  the  sloping  hillside.  All  buildings  must  be  but 
one  story  high,  and  those  of  the  poorer  sort  thatched  with  grass.  The  better 
class  may  have  iron  or  board  roofs  painted  for  preservation.  The  houses  of  the 
officials  and  the  foreign  merchants  may  be  commodious,  and  built  of  hewn  tim- 
ber, but  the  doors  of  all  must  be  low,  and  heavily  constructed,  to  exclude  the 
winter  cold.  Every  dAvelling  must  contain  a  brick  stove  that  presents  a  side  to 
each  of  two  or  three  rooms.  In  winter  this  stove  will  maintain  a  temperature 
of  about  68  degrees  in  all  the  rooms  it  is  intended  to  warm." 


KMICHATKA. 


257 


PETROPAVLOSK. 


Besides  some  Jakut  immigrants,  the  chief  stock  of  the  scanty  population  of 
the  country  consists  of  the  descendants  of  the  primitive  Kamchatkans,  wlio,  in 
spite  of  frequent  intermarriages  with  their  conquerors  the  Cossacks,  have  still 
retained  many  of  their  ancient  manners.  They  are  of  a  small  stature,  but  broad- 
shouldered,  their  cheek-bones  are  prominent,  their  jaws  uncommonly  broad  and 
projecting,  their  noses  small,  their  lips  very  full,  their  hair  black.  The  color  of 
the  men  is  dark  brown,  or  sometimes  yellow ;  the  women  have  fairer  complex- 
ions, which  they  endeavor  to  preserve  by  means  of  bears'  guts,  stuck  upon  their 
faces  in  spring  with  fresh  lime,  so  as  not  to  be  burned  by  the  sun.  They  also 
paint  their  cheeks  with  a  sea-weed,  which,  when  rubbed  upon  them  with  fat, 
gives  them  a  beautiful  red  color. 

The  Kamchatkans  are  a  remarkably  healthy  race.  Many  of  thcni  attain  .-m 
age  of  seventy  or  eighty  years,  and  are  able  to  walk  and  to  work  until  their 

17 


258  TIIE   POLAR  WORLD. 

death.  Their  hair  seldom  turns  gray  before  their  sixtieth  year,  and  even  tlie 
oldest  men  have  a  firm  and  elastic  step.  The  weight  of  their  body  is  greater 
than  that  of  the  Jakuts,  though  the  latter  live  on  milk  and  flesh,  while  fish  is 
the  almost  exclusive  food  of  the  Kamchatkans.  'The  round  tubercles  of  the 
FritUlaria  sarrana,  a  species  of  lily  with  a  dark  purple  flower,  likewise  play 
an  important  part  in  their  diet,  and  serve  them  instead  of  bread  and  meal. 
"  If  the  fruits  of  the  bread-fruit  tree,"  says  Kittlitz— who  has  seen  both  plants 
in  the  places  of  their  growth — "  are  pre-eminent  among  all  others,  as  affording 
man  a  perfect  substitute  for  bread,  the  roots  of  the  Sarrana,  which  are  very 
similar  in  taste,  rank  perhaps  immediately  after  them.  The  collecting  of  these 
tubers  in  the  meadows  is  an  important  summer  occupation  of  the  women,  and 
one  which  is  rather  troublesome,  as  the  plant  never  grows  gregariously,  so  that 
each  root  has  to  be  sought  and  dug  out  separately  with  a  knife.  Fortunately 
the  wonderful  activity  of  the  Siberian  field-vole  facihtates  the  labor  of  gather- 
ing the  tubers.  These  remarkable  animals  burrow  extensive  winter  nests,  with 
five  or  six  store-houses,  which  they  fill  with  various  roots,  but  chiefly  with  those 
of  the  Sarrana.  To  find  these  subterranean  treasures,  the  Kamchatkans  use 
sticks  with  iron  points,  which  they  strike  into  the  earth.  The  contents  of  three 
of  these  nests  are  as  much  as  a  man  can  carry  on  his  back.  A  species  of  fun- 
gus, called  muchamor,  affords  a  favorite  stimulant.  It  is  dried  and  eaten  raw. 
Besides  its  exhilarating  effects,  it  is  said  to  produce,  like  the  Peruvian  Coca,  a 
remarkable  increase  of  strength,  which  lasts  for  a  considerable  time. 

Fishing  and  hunting  supply  all  the  wants  of  the  Kamchatkans,  for  they  have 
not  yet  learned  to  profit  in  any  degree  worth  mentioning  by  the  luxuriance  of 
their  meadow-lands.  They  pay  their  taxes  and  purchase  their  foreign  luxuries 
—meal  and  tea,  tobacco  and  brandy— with  furs.  The  chase  of  the  costly  sea- 
otter  (which  from  excessive  persecution  had  at  one  time  almost  become  extinct) 
has  latterly  improved.  Besides  the  fur  animals,  they  also  hunt  the  reindeer,  the 
argali,  the  wolf,  and  the  bear,  whose  skins  supply  them  with  clothing. 

Bears  abound  in  Kamchatka,  as  they  -find  a  never-failing  supply  of  fishes 
and  berries,  and  Ermann  assures  us  that  they  would  long  since  have  extirpated 
the  inhabitants,  if  (most  probably  on  account  of  the  plenty  in  which  they  live) 
they  were  not  of  a  more  gentle  disposition  than  any  others  iu  the  world.  In 
spring  they  descend  from  the  mountains  to  the  mouths  of  the  rivers,  to  levy 
their  tribute  on  the  migratory  troops  of  the  fishes,  frequently  eating  only  the 
heads.  Toward  autumn  they  follow  the  fishes  into  the  interior  of  the  country 
as  they  ascend  the  streams. 

The  most  valuable  domestic  animal  in  Kamchatka  is  the  dog,  who  has  the 
usual  characters  of  the  Esquimaux  race.  He  lives  exclusively  on  fish,  which  he 
catches  very  dexterously.  From  spring  to  autumn  he  is  allowed  to  roam  at  lib- 
erty, no  one  troubling  himself  about  him ;  but  in  October,  every  proprietor  col- 
lects his  dogs,  binds  them  to  a  post,  and  lets  them  fast  for  a  time,  so  as  to  de- 
prive them  of  their  superfluous  fat,  and  to  render  them  more  fit  for  running. 
During  the  winter  they  are  fed  with  dried  fish  every  morning  and  evening,  but 
while  travelling  they  get  nothing  to  eat,  even  though  they  run  for  hours.  Their 
strength  is  wonderful.     Generally  no  more  than  five  of  them  are  harnessed  to  a 


KAMCHATKA. 


DOGb  FISHING. 

sledge,  and  will  drag  with  ease  three  full-grown  persons,  and  sixty  pounds' 
weight  of  luggage.  When  liglrtly  laden,  such  a  sledge  will  travel  from  30  to 
40  versts  in  a  day  over  bad  roads  and  through  the  deep  snow ;  on  even  roads, 
from  SO  to  140.  The  horse  can  never  be  used  for  sledging,  on  account  of  tlie 
deep  snow,  into  which  it  would  sink,  and  of  the  numerous  rivers  and  sources, 
which  are  either  never  frozen,  or  merely  covered  with  a  thin  sheet  of  ice,  un- 
able to  bear  the  weight  of  so  large  an  animal. 


DOG-TEAM. 


Travelling  with  dogs  is,  however,  both  dangerous  and  difficult.  Instead  of 
the  whip,  the  Kamchatkans  use  a  crooked  stick  with  iron  rings,  which,  by 
their  jingling,  give  the  leader  of  the  team  the  necessary  signals.  When  the 
dogs  do  not  sufficiently  exert  themselves,  the  stick  is  cast  among  them  to  rouse 
them  to  greater  speed  ;  but  then  the  traveller  must  be  dexterous  enough  to 


260 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


pick  it  up  again  while  the  sledge  shoots  along.  During  a  snow-stoi-m  the  dogs 
keep  their  master  warm,  and  will  lie  quietly  near  him  for  hours,  so  that  he  has 
merely  to  prevent  the  snow  from  covering  him  too  deeply  and  suffocating  him. 
The  dogs  are  also  excellent  weather  prophets,  for  when,  while  resting,  they  dig 
holes  in  the  snow,  a  storm  may  with  certainty  be  expected. 

The  sledge-dogs  are  trained  to  their  future  service  at  a  very  early  period. 
Soon  after  birth  they  are  placed  with  their  mother  iu  a  deep  pit,  so  as  to  see 
neither  man  nor  beast,  and,  after  having  been  weaned,  they  are  again  condemn- 
ed to  solitary  confinement  in  a  pit.  After  six  months  they  are  attached  to  a 
sledge  with  other  older  dogs,  and,  being  extremely  shy,  they  run  as  fast  as 
they  can.     On  returning  home,  they  are  again  confined  in  their  pit,  where  they 


DOGS   TOWING   BOATS. 


1-emain  until  they  are  perfectly  trained,  and  able  to  perform  a  long  journey. 
Then,  but  not  before,  they  are  allowed  their  summer  liberty.  This  severe  edu- 
cation completely  sours  their  temper,  and  they  constantly  remain  gloomy,  shy, 
quarrelsome,  and  suspicious. 

To  return  to  the  Kamchatkans :  travellers  praise  their  good-nature,  their 
hospitality,  and  their  natural  Avit.  Of  a  sanguine  disposition,  they  are  happy 
and  content  in  their  poverty,  and  have  no  cares  for  the  morrow.  Bemg  ex- 
tremely indolent,  they  never  work  unless  when  compelled.  They  readily  adopt 
strange  manners,  and  no  doubt  education  might  produce  valuable  results  in  so 
pliable  and  shai-p-Avitted  a  race.  Unfortunately  the  Prussians  and  Cossacks 
who  have  settled  among  them  do  not  afford  them  the  best  examples.     They 


KAMCHATKA. 


2Gt 


have  long  since  been  converted  to  tlie  Greek  Church,  but  it  is  supposed  that  bap- 
tism has  not  fully  effaced  all  traces  of  Shamanism.  Foi-merly  they  had  many 
gods,  the  chief  of  whom  was  Kutka,  the  creator  of  heaven  and  earth.  But  far 
from  honoring  Kutka,  they  continually  ridiculed  him,  and  made  him  the  con- 
stant butt  of  their  satire.  Kutka,  however,  had  a  wife,  Chachy,  who  was  en- 
dowed with  all  the  intelligence  in  which  her  spouse  was  supposed  to  be  defi- 
cient, and  who,  as  is  the  case  in  many  mortal  housekeepings,  was  constantly  ex- 
erting her  ingenuity  in  repairing  tlic  blunders  of  licr  lord  and  master. 


363 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


UlAME-nOKK   Ot    TCnLKTCIII    UOLbfc 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  TCHUKTCHI. 

The  Land  of  the  Tchuktchi. — Their  independent  Spirit  and  commercial  Enterprise. — Perpetual  Mi.L'ra- 
tions. — Tlie  Fair  of  Ostrownoje. — Visit  in  a  Tehuktch  Polog. — Races. — Tchuktch  Bayaderes. — The 
Tennygk,  or  Reindeer  Tchuktchi.— The  Onkilon,  or  Sedentary  Tchuktchi.— Their  Mode  of  Life. 

AT  the  extreme  north-eastern  point  of  Asia,  bounded  by  the  Polar  Ocean 
on  one  side  and  the  Sea  of  Bering  on  the  other,  lies  the  land  of  the 
Tchuktchi.  The  few  travellers  who  have  ever  visited  that  bleak  promontory 
describe  it  as  one  of  the  dreariest  regions  of  the  earth.  The  climate  is  dread- 
fully cold,  as  may  be  expected  in  a  country  confined  between  icy  seas.  Befoi'e 
July  20th  there  is  no  appearance  of  summer,  and  winter  already  sets  in  about 
August  20th.  The  lower  grounds  shelving  to  the  north  are  intersected  with 
numerous  streams,  which,  however,  enjoy  their  liberty  but  a  short  time  of  the 
year ;  the  valleys  are  mostly  swampy  and  filled  with  small  lakes  or  ponds  ; 
while  on  the  bleak  hill-slopes  the  Vaccinium  and  the  dwarf  birch  or  willow 
sparingly  vegetate  under  a  carpet  of  mosses  and  lichens.  The  eastern,  north- 
eastern, and  partly  also  the  southern  coasts  abound  with  walruses,  sea-lions, 
and  seals,  while  the  reindeer,  the  argali,  the  wolf,  and  the  Arctic  fox  occupy 
the  land.  During  the  short  summer,  geese,  swans,  ducks,  and  wading-birds 
frequent  the  marshy  grounds  ;  but  in  winter  the  snow-owl  and  the  raven  alone 
remain,  and  constantly  follow  the  path  of  the  nomadic  inhabitants.  In  this 
desolate  nook  of  the  Old  World  lives  the  only  aboriginal  people  of  North  Asia 
which  has  known  how  to  maintain  its  liberty  to  the  present  day,  and  which, 
proud  of  its  independence,  looks  down  with  sovereign  contempt  upon  its  re- 
lations, the  Korjaks,Avho,.  without  offering  any  resistance,  have  yielded  to  the 
authority  of  Pussia. 


THE   TCHUKTCIII.  2G3 

The  rulers  of  Siberia  have  indeed. confined  the  Tchuktchi  within  narrow 
limits,  but  here  at  least  they  obey  no  foreign  ruler,  and  wander,  unmolested 
by  the  stranger,  with  their  numerous  reindeer  herds,  over  the  naked  tundras. 
A  natural  distrust  of  their  powerful  neighbors  has  rendered  them  long  unwil- 
ling to  enter  into  any  commercial  intercourse  with  the  Russians,  and  to  meet 
them  at  the  fair  of  Osti-ownoje,  a  small  town,  situated  not  far  from  their  fron- 
tiers, on  a  small  island  of  the  Aniuj,  in  68°  N.  lat. 

This  remotest  trading-place  of  the  Old  Woi'ld  is  not  so  unimportant  as 
might  be  supposed,  fi-om  the  sterile  nature  of  the  country,  for  the  Tchuktchi 
are  not  satisfied,  like  the  indolent  Lapps  or  Saraoiedes,  with  the  produce  of 
their  reindeer  herds,  but  strive  to  increase  their  enjoyments  or  their  property 
by  an  active  trade.  From  the  East  Cape  of  Asia,  where,  crossing  Bering's 
Straits  in  boats  covered  with  skins,  they  barter  furs  and  walrus-teeth  from  the 
natives  of  America,  the  Tchuktchi  come  with  their  goods  and  tents  drawn  on 


TCHUKTCHI  CANOE. 


sledges  to  the  fair  of  Ostrownoje.  Other  sledges  laden  with  lichens,  the  food 
of  the  reindeer,  follow  in  their  train,  as  in  their  Avanderings,  however  circuitous, 
they  not  seldom  pass  through  regions  so  stony  and  desert  as  not  even  to  afford 
these  frugal  animals  the  slightest  repast.  Thus  regulating  their  movements 
by  the  wants  of  their  herds,  they  require  five  or  six  months  for  a  journey 
which,  in  a  direct  line,  Avould  not  be  much  longer  than  a  thousand  versts,  and 
are  almost  constantly  Avandering  from  place  to  place,  though,  as  they  always 
carry  their  dwellings  along  with  them,  they  at  the  same  time  never  leave  home. 
One  of  these  snail-like  caravans  generally  consists  of  fifty  or  sixty  families,  and 
one  fair  is  scarcely  at  an  end  when  they  set  off  to  make  their  arrangements  for 
the  next. 

Tobacco  is  the  primum  mobile  of  the  trade  which  centres  in  Ostrownoje. 
Their  pipes  are  of  a  peculiar  character,  larger  at  the  steni  than  the  bowl,  which 
holds  a  very  small  quantity  of  tobacco.  In  smoking,  they  swallow  the  fumes 
of  the  tobacco,  and  often,  after  six  or  eight  whiffs,  fall  back  comjilctcly  intoxi- 


264  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


TCnUKTCni  PIPE. 


cated  for  the  time.  The  desire  to  procure  a  few  of  its  narcotic  leaves  induces 
the  American  Esquimaux,  from  the  Icy  Cape  to  Bristol  Bay,  to  send  their  prod- 
uce from  hand  to  hand  as  far  as  the  Gwosdew  Islands  in  Bering's  Straits, 
where  it  is  bartered  for  the  tobacco  of  the  Tchuktchi,  and  these  again  princi- 
pally resort  to  the  fair  of  Ostrownoje  to  purchase  tobacco  from  the  Russians. 
Generally  the  Tchuktchi  receive  from  the  Americans  as  many  skins  for  half  a 
poud,  or  eighteen  pounds,  of  tobacco-leaves  as  they  afterwards  sell  to  tlie  Bus- 
sians  for  two  pouds  of  tobacco  of  the  same  quality.  These  cost  the  Russian 
merchant  about  160  roubles  at  the  very  utmost,  Avhile  the  skins  which  he  obtains 
in  barter  are  worth  at  least  260  at  Jakutsk,  and  are  more  than  double  that  sum 
at  St.  Petersburg. 

The  furs  of  the  Tchuktchi  principally  consist  of  black  and  silver-gray  foxes, 
stone-foxes,  gluttons,  lynxes,  otters,  beavers,  and  a  fine  species  of  mai'ten  which 
does  not  occur  in  Siberia,  and  approaches  the  sable  in  value.  They  also  bring 
to  the  fair  bear-skins,  walrus-thongs  and  teeth,  sledge-runners  of  whale-ribs,  and 
ready-made  clothes  of  reindeer  skin.  The  American  furs  are  generally  packed 
in  sacks  of  seal  skin,  which  are  made  in  an  ingenious  manner  by  extracting  the 
bones  and  flesh  through  a  small  opening  made  in  the  abdomen. 

The  Russian  traders  on  their  part  bring  to  the  fair,  besides  tobacco,  iron- 
ware—particularly kettles  and  knives— for  the  Tchuktchi,  and  tea,  sugar,  and 
various  stuffs  for  their  countrymen  who  have  settled  along  the  Kolyma, 

But  OstroAvnoje  attracts  not  only  Tchuktchi  and  Russians ;  a  great  num- 
ber of  the  Siberian  tribes  from  a  vast  circuit  of  roOO  or  1500  versts — Juka- 
hires,  Lamiites,  Tungusi,  Tschuwanzi,  Koriaks  —  also  come  flocking  in  their 
sledges,  drawn  partly  by  dogs,  partly  by  horses,  for  the  purpose  of  bartering 
their  commodities  against  the  goods  of  the  Tchuktchi.  Fancy  this  barbarous 
assembly  meeting  every  year  during  the  intense  cold  and  short  days  of  the  be- 
ginning of  March.  Picture  to  yourself  the  fantastic  illumination  of  their  red 
watch-fii-es  blazing  under  the  starry  firmament,  or  mingling  their  ruddy  glare 
with  tlie  Aurora  flickering  through  the  skies,  and  add  to  the  strange  siglit  the 
hollow  sound  of  the  Shaman's  drum,  and  the  howling  of  several  liundreds  of 
hungry  dogs,  and  you  will  surely  confess  that  no  fair  has  a  more  original  char- 
acter than  that  of  Ostrownoje.  A  government  commissary,  assisted  by  some 
Cossacks,  superintends  the  fair,  and  receives  the  inconsiderable  market-tax 
which  the  Tchuktclii  pay  to  the  Emperor. 


THE   TCHUKTCHI.  265 

All  preliminaries  having  been  arranged,  the  orthodox  Russians  repair  to 
the  chapel  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  a  solemn  mass,  after  which,  the  hoLstin--- 
of  a  flag  on  the  tower  of  the  ostrog  announces  the  opening  of  the  market. 
At  this  welcome  sign,  the  Tchuktchi,  completely  armed  with  spears,  bow^s,  and 
arrows,  advance  with  their  sledges,  and  form  a  Vide  semicircle  round  the 
fort,  while  the  Russians,  and  the  other  visitors  of  the  fair,  ranged  opi)osite  to 
them,  await  in  breathless  silence  the  tolling  of  the  bell,  Avliich  is  to  begin  tlio 
active  business  of  the  day.  At  the  very  first  sound,  each  trader,  grotesquely 
laden  witli  packages  of  tobacco,  kettles,  knives,  or  wliatever  else  he  supposes 
best  able  to  supply  some  want,  or  to  strike  some  fancy  of  the  Tchuktchi,  rush- 
es as  fast  as  he  can  towards  the  sledges,  and  in  the  jumble  not  seldom  knocks 
down  a  competitor,  or  is  himself  stretched  at  full  length  on  the  snow.  But, 
unmindful  of  the  loss  of  cap  and  gloves,  which  he  does  not  give  liimself  time 
to  pick  up,  he  starts  afresh,  to  make  up  for  the  delay  by  redoubled  activity. 
Before  he  reaches  the  first  Tchuktch,  his  eloquence  breaks  forth  in  an  inter- 
minable flow,  and  in  a  strange  jargon  of  Russian,  Tchuktch,  and  Jakute,  he 
praises  the  excellence  of  his  tobacco  or  the  solidity  of  his  kettles.  The  imper- 
turbable gravity  of  the  Tchuktch  forms  a  remarkable  contrast  with  the  greedy 
eagerness  of  the  Russian  trader ;  without  replying  to  his  harangue,  he  merely 
shakes  his  head  if  the  other  offers  him  too  little  for  his  goods,  and  never  for 
an  instant  loses  his  self-possession  :  Avhile  the  Russian,  in  his  hurry,  not  sel 
dom  hands  over  two  pouds  of  tobacco  for  one,  or  pockets  a  red  fox  instead  of 
a  black  one.  Although  the  Tchuktch  have  no  scales  with  them,  it  is  not  easy 
to  deceive  them  in  the  weight,  for  they  know  exactly  by  the  feeling  of  the 
hand  whether  a  quarter  of  a  pound  is  wanting  to  the  ])0ud.  The  whole  fail- 
seldom  lasts  longer  than  three  days,  and  Ostrownoje,  which  must  have  but  v(yy 
few  stationary  inhabitants  indeed  (as  it  is  not  even  mentioned  in  statistical  ac- 
counts, which  cite  towms  of  seventeen  souls),  is  soon  after  abandoned  for  many 
months  to  its  ultra- Siberian  solitude. 

But  before  we  allow  the  Tchuktchi  to  retire  to  their  deserts,  we  may  leai-n 
something  more  of  their  habits  by  accompanying  Mr.  IVIatiuschkin — Wrangell's 
companion — on  a  visit  to  the  ladies  of  one  of  their  first  chiefs.  "  We  enter  the 
outer  tent,  or  '  namet,'  consisting  of  tanned  reindeer  skins  supported  on  a  slen- 
der frame-work.  An  opening  at  the  top  to  let  out  the  smoke,  and  a  kettle  in 
the  centre,  announce  that  antechamber  and  kitchen  are  here  harmoniously  blend- 
ed into  one.  But  where  are  the  inmates  ?  Most  probably  in  that  large  sack 
made  of  the  finest  skins  of  reindeer  calves,  which  occui)ies,  near  the  kettle,  the 
centre  of  the  'namet.'  To  penetrate  into  this  '  sanctum  sanctorum'  of  the 
Tcliuktch  household,  we  raise  the  loose  flap  which  s^jrves  as  a  door,  creep  on  all 
fours  through  the  opening,  cautiously  re-fasten  the  flap  by  tucking  it  under  the 
floor-skin,  and  find  ourselves  in  the  reception  or  withdrawing  room — the  '  polog.' 
A  snug  box  no  doubt  for  a  cold  climate,  but  rather  low%  as  we  can  not  stand  up- 
right in  it,  and  not  quite  so  well  ventilated  as  a  sanitary  commissioner  would 
approve  of,  as  it  has  positively  no  opening  for  light  or  air.  A  suffocating 
smoke  meets  us  on  entering,  we  rub  our  eyes,  and  when  they  have  at  length  got 
accustomed  to  the  biting  atmosphere,  we  perceive,  by  the  gloomy  light  of  a 


266  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

train-oil  lamp,  the  -worthy  family  squatting  ou  the  floor  in  a  state  of  almost 
complete  nudity.  Without  being  in  the  least  embarrassed,  Madame  Lelitt  and 
her  daughter  receive  us  in  their  primitive  costume  :  but  to  show  us  that  the 
Tchuktehi  know  how  to  receive  company,  and  to  do  honor  to  their  guests,  they 
immediately  insert  strings  of  glass  beads  in  their  greasy  hair.  Their  hospitali- 
ty equals  their  politeness ;  for,  instead  of  a  cold  reception,  a  hot  dish  of  boiled 
reindeer-flesh,  copiously  irrigated  with  rancid  train-oil  by  the  experienced  hand 
of  the  mistress  of  the  household,  is  soon  after  smoking  before  us.  Unfortunate- 
ly our  effeminate  taste  is  not  up  to  the  hmd  gout  of  her  culinary  art,  and  while 
Mr.  Leiitt  does  ample  justice  to  the  artistic  talent  of  his  spouse,  by  rapidly  bolt- 
ing down  pieces  as  large  as  a  fist,  we  are  hardly  able  to  swallow  a  morsel." 

Daring  liis  visit  at  Ostrownoje,  Matiuschkin  had  a  favorable  opportunity  of 
becoming  acquainted  with  the  sports  of  the  Tchuktehi,  the  chieftain,  Makomol, 
having  set  out  prizes  for  a  race.  These  consisted  of  a  valuable  silver  fox,  a 
first-rate  beaver  skin,  and  two  fine  walrus-teeth.  Nothing  can  be  more  ad- 
mirable than  the  fleetness  of  the  reindeer  or  the  dexterity  of  their  drivers ; 
and  the  agility  displayed  in  the  foot-race  by  the  Tchuktehi,  running  at  full 
speed,  in  their  heavy  winter  dresses,  over  a  distance  of  fifteen  versts,  gives  a 
high  idea  of  their  muscular  powers.  After  the  races,  the  spectators  are  treated 
to  a  grand  choregraphic  display.  The  Arctic  bayaderes,  mufiled  from  head 
to  foot  in  their  stiff  skin  garments,  form  a  narrow  circle,  slowly  moving  their 
feet  backward  and  forward,  and  fiercely  gesticulating  with  their  hands,  whilst 
tlieir  faces  ai-e  distorted  into  a  thousand  horrible  grimaces.  The  singing  that 
accompanies  the  ballet  lias  no  doubt  its  charm  for  native  ears,  but  to  strangers 
it  seems  no  better  than  a  kind  of  grunt.  The  representation  is  closed  by  three 
first-rate  artistes  executing  a  particularly  favorite  dance.  The  faces  of  their 
countrymen  express  the  same  intense  admiration  with  which  a  European  dilet- 
tante follows  the  graceful  pirouettes  of  a  Taglioni,  while  the  Russian  guests 
see  only  three  greasy  monsters  alternately  rushing  towards  each  other  and 
starting  back,  until  at  length  they  stop  from  sheer  exhaustion.  As  a  token  of 
their  satisfaction,  the  Russians  regale  the  fair  performers  with  a  cup  of  brandy 
and  a  roll  of  toljacco,  and  both  parties  take  leave  of  each  other  Avith  mutual 
protestations  of  satisfaction  and  friendship. 

Though  most  of  the  Reindeer  or  nomadic  Tchuktehi  have  been  baptized,  yet 
Wrangell  suj^poses  the  ceremony  to  have  been  a  mere  financial  speculation  on 
their  part,  and  is  conviiiced  that  the  power  of  the  Shamans  is  still  as  great  as 
ever.  An  epidemic  had  carried  off  a  great  number  of  persons,  and  also  whole 
herds  of  reindeer.  In  vain  the  Shamans  had  recourse  to  their  usual  conjura- 
tions, the  plague  continued.  They  consulted  together,  and  directed  that  one  of 
tlieir  most  respected  chiefs,  named  Kotschen,  must  be  sacrificed,  to  appease  the 
irritated  spirits.  Kotschen  was  willing  to  submit  to  the  sentence,  but  none 
could  be  found  to  execute  it,  until  his  own  son,  prevailed  on  by  his  father's  ex- 
hortations, and  terrified  by  his  threatened  curse,  plunged  a  knife  into  his  heart, 
and  gave  his  body  to  the  Shamans. 

Polygamy  is  general  among  the  Tchuktehi,  and  they  change  their  wives  as 
often  as  they  please.     Still,  though  the  women  are  certainly  slaves,  they  are  al- 


THE   TCHUKTCHI.  267 

lowed  more  influence,  find  are  subjected  to  less  labor  than  among  many  sav- 
ages. Among  other  heathenish  and  detestable  customs,  is  that  of  killing  all 
deformed  children,  and  all  old  people  as  soon  as  they  become  unfit  for  the 
hardships  and  fatigues  of  a  nomad  life.  Two  years  before  Wrangell's  arri- 
val at  Kolyma  there  was  an  instance  of  this  in  the  case  of  one  of  their  richest 
chiefs.  Waletka's  father  became  infirm  and  tired  of  life,  and  was  put  to  death 
at  his  own  express  desire  by  some  of  his  nearest  relations. 

Besides  the  wandering,  or  Reindeer  Tchuktchi,  who  call  themselves  Tennygk, 
there  are  others,  dwelling  in  fixed  habitations  along  the  borders  of  the  sea  at 
Bering's  Straits  and  the  Gulf  of  Anadyr,  who  differ  considerably  from  the 
former  in  appearance  and  language.  These  Onkilon,  or  stationary  Tchuktchi, 
belong  to  the  wide-spread  Esquimaux 'family,  and,  like  most  of  their  race,  sub- 
sist by  hunting  the  whale,  the  walrus,  and  the  seal.  They  live  in  a  state  of 
abject  dependence  on  the  nomad  Tchuktchi,  and  are  poor,  like  all  fishermen, 
while  some  of  the  Tennygk  chieftains  possess  several  thousands  of  reindeer, 
and  are  continually  adding  to  their  wealth  by  trade.  Of  course  there  is  an 
active  exchange  of  commodities  between  the  two ;  the  Onkilon  furnishing 
thongs  of  walrus  hide,  walrus-teeth,  train-oil,  etc.,  and  receiving  reindeer  skins, 
or  ready-made  clothes  of  the  same  material,  in  return. 

They  live  in  small  settlements  or  villages  spread  along  the  coast ;  their  huts, 
raised  on  frame-works  of  whale-rib  and  covered  with  skins,  resemble  a  large 
irregular  cone  reposing  on  its  side,  with  the  apex  directed  to  the  north,  and 
the  base  shelving  abruptly  to»the  south.  Here  is  the  small  opening,  closed  by 
a  flap  of  loose  skin,  which  serves  as  a  door,  while  the  smoke  escapes  and  the 
light  enters  through  a  round  hole  in  the  roof.  At  the  farther  or  northern  end 
of  this  structure  is  a  second  low  square  tent,  covered  with  double  reindeer 
skins,  the  polog,  which  in  winter  serves  both  as  the  dining  and  bed  room  of 
the  family. 

The.Onkilon  catch  seals  in  a  kind  of  net  made  of  leather  straps,  which  they 
spread  out  under  the  ice,  and* in  which  the  animal  entangles  itself  with  the 
head  or  flippers.  When  the  walrus,  which  is  particularly  abundant  about 
Koliutschin  Island,  creeps  on  shore,  they  steal  upon  it  unawares,  cut  off  its  re- 
treat, and  kill  it  with  their  spears.  Like  the  Esquimaux,  they  use  dogs  to  drag 
their  sledges. 

The  number  of  the  Tchuktchi  is  greater  than  one  might  expect  to  find  in 
so  sterile  a  country.  According  to  the  Russian  missionaries,  there  were,  some 
years  back,  52  ulusses  or  villages  of  the  Onkilon,  with  1568  tents,  and  10,000 
inhabitants ;  and  Wrangell  tells  us  that  the  Tennygk  are  at  least  twice  as  nu- 
merous, so  that  the  entire  population  of  the  land  of  the  Tchuktchi  may  possi- 
bly amount  to  30,000. 


THE   POLAR   WORLD, 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

BERING  SEA— THE  RUSSIAN  FUR  COMPANY— THE  ALEUTS. 

BeringSea.— Unalaska.— The  Pribilow  Islands.— St.  Matthew.— St.  Laurence.— Bering's  Straits.— The 
Russian  Fur  Company.— The  Aleuts.— Their  Character.— Their  Skill  and  Intrepidity  in  hunting  the 
Sea-otter.— The  Sea-bear.— Whale-chasing.— Walrus-slaughter.— The  Sea-lion. 

BERING  SEA  is  extremely  interesting  in  a  geographical  point  of  view',  as 
the  temperature  of  its  coasts  and  islands. exhibits  so  striking  a  contrast 
with  that  part  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  which  extends  between  Greenland,  Iceland, 
Norway,  and  Spitzbergen,  and  aifords  ns  the  most  convincing  proof  of  the 
benefits  we  owe  to  the  Gulf  Stream,  and  to  the  mild  south-westerly  winds 
which  SAveep  across  the  Atlantic.  While  tlirough  the  sea  between  Iceland 
and  Scotland,  a  part  of  the  warmth  generated  in  the  tropical  zone  penetrates 
by  means  of  marine  and  aerial  currents  as  far  as  Spitzbergen  and  the  western 
coast  of  Nova  Zembla,  the  Sea  of  Bering  is  completely  deprived  of  this  advan- 
tage. The  long  cliain  of  mountainous  islands  which  bounds  it  on  the  south 
serves  as  a  barrier  against  the  mild  influence  of  the  Pacific,  and  instead  of 
warm  streams  mixing  with  its  waters,  many  considerable  rivers  arfd  deep  bays 
yearly  discharge  into  it  enormous  masses  of  ice.  Thus  as  soon  as  the  naviga- 
tor enters  Bering  Sea  he  perceives  at  once  a  considerable  fall  in  the  tempera- 
ture, and  finds  himself  suddenly  transferred  from  a  temperate  oceanic  region 
to  one  of  a  decidedly  Arctic  character.  In  spite,  therefore,  of  their  compara- 
tively southerly  position  (for  the  Straits  of  Bering  do  not  even  reach  the  Arc- 
tic Circle,  and  the  Andrianow  Islands  are  ten  degrees  farther  to  the  south  than 


BERING   SEA— THE  ALEUTS.  269 

the  Feroes),  those  frigid  waters  arc,  with  regard  to  climate,  far  less  favorably 
situated  than  the  seas  of  Spitzbergen. 

The  same  gradual  differences  of  temperature  and  vegetation  which  we 
find  in  Unalaska,  the  Pribilow  Islands,  St.  Laurence,  and  the  Straits  of  Be- 
ring, within  10°  of  latitude,  occur  in  the  Shetland  Islands,  Iceland,  Bear  Island, 
and  Spitzbergen  at  distances  of  almost  20° ;  so  that  in  the  Sea  of  Bering  the 
increase  of  cold  on  advancing  to  the  north  is  about  twice  as  rapid  as  in  the 
waters  between  North  Europe  and  North  America. 

The  long  and  narrow  peninsula  of  Aliaska,. which  forms  the  south-eastern 
boundary  of  this  inhospitable  sea,  shows  us  its  influence  in  a  very  marked  de- 
gree, for  while  the  climate  of  the  northern  side  of  that  far-projecting  land- 
tongue  has  a  decidedly  Arctic  character,  its  southern  coasts  fronting  the  Pa- 
cific enjoy  a  temperate  climate.  The  mountain-chain  which,  rising  to  a  height 
of  five  or  six  thousand  feet,  forms  the  backbone  of  the  peninsula,  serves  as  the 
boundary  of  two  distinct  worlds,  for  while  the  northern  slopes  are  bleak  and 
treeless  like  Iceland,  the  southern  shores  are  covered  from  the  water's  edge 
with  magnificent  forests.  While  on  the  northern  side  the  Avalrus  extends  his 
excursions  down  to  56°  30'  N.  lat.,  on  the  southern  exposure  the  humming- 
bird is  seen  to  flit  from  flower  to  flower  as  high  as  61°,  the  most  northerly 
point  it  is  known  to  attain. 

The  Feroe  Islands  (64°  N.  lat.)  have  undoubtedly  a  no  very  agreeable  cli- 
mate to  boast  of,  but  they  may  almost  be  said  to  enjoy  Italian  skies  when 
compared  with  Unalaska  (54°  N.  lat.),  the  best  known  of  the  Aleutian  chain. 

The  Scandinavian  archipelago  is  frequently  obscured  with  fogs,  but  here 
they  are  perpetual  from  April  to  the  middle  of  July.  From  this  time  till  the 
end  of  September  the  weather  improves,  as  then  the  southerly  winds  drive  the 
foggy  region  more  to  the  north,  and  enable  the  sun  to  shine  during  a  few  se- 
rene days  upon  the  bleak  shores  of  Unalaska.  But  soon  the  Polar  air-streams 
regain  the  supremacy,  and  a  dismal  veil  once  more  shrouds  the  melancholy  isl- 
and. Of  Sitka,  the  chief  town  of  Aliaska,  Mr.  Whymper  says  :  "  It  enjoys  the 
unenviable  position  of  being  about  the  most  rainy  place  in  the  world.  Rain, 
ceases  only  when  there  is  a  good  prospect  of  snow."  Snow  generally  begins 
to  fall  early  in  October,  and  snow-storms  occur  to  the  very  end  of  May.  There 
are  years  in  which  it  rains  continually  during  the  whole  winter.  In  the  Feroes 
some  service-trees  are  to  be  seen  twelve  feet  high  or  more,  while  nothing  like 
a  tree  ever  grew  in  Unalaska.  The  difference  between  the  temperatures  of  the 
summer  and  winter,  which  in  the  Feroes  is  confined  to  very  narrow  limits,  is 
much  more  considerable  in  Unalaska,  though  here  also  the  moderating  influ- 
ence of  the  sea  makes  itself  felt.  Thus  in  summer  the  thermometer  rarely 
rises  above  66°,  but  on  the  other  hand  in  Avinter  it  still  more  rarely  falls  be- 
low -2°. 

Of  course  no  corn  of  any  kind  can  possibly  ripen  in  a  climate  like  this,  but 
the  damp  and  cool  temperature  favors  the  growth  of  herbs.  In  the  moist  low- 
lands the  stunted  Avillow-bushes  are  stifled  by  the  luxuriant  grasses;  and  even 
on  the  hills,  the  vegetation,  which  is  of  a  decidedly  Alpine  character,  covers 
the  earth  up  to  the  line  of  perpetual  snow ;  while  several  social  plants,  such 


270 


THE   POLAR  WORLD. 


as  the  Z/upinus  nootkeanus  and  the  Rhododendron  kmntschadcdicum,  decorate 
these  dismal  regions  with  their  brilliant  color.  The  lively  green  of  the  mead- 
ows reminds  one  of  the  valley  of  Urseren,.so  well  known  to  all  Alpine  tourists. 


0^^l, 


The  mosses  and  lichens  begin  already  at  Unalaska  to  assume  that  predomi- 
nance in  the  Flora  which  characterizes  the  frigid  zone. 

A  few  degrees  to  the  north  of  the  Aleutian  chain,  which  extends  in  a  lono; 


BERING   SEA— THE  ALEUTS.  271 

line  from  the  pi-omontory  of  Aliaska  to  Kamcliatka,  are  situated  the  Pribilow 
Islands,  St.  George  and  St.  Paul,  which  are  celebrated  in  the  history  of  the  iiir- 
trade,  the  former  as  the  chief  breeding-place  of  the  sea-bear,  the  latter  as  tliat 
of  the  sea-lion.  Chamisso  was  struck  with  their  wintry  aspect,  for  here  no 
sheltered  valleys  and  lowlands  promote,  as  at  Unalaska,  a  more  vigorous  veg- 
etation. The  rounded  backs  of  the  hills  and  the  scattered  ]-ocks  are  covered 
with  black  and  gray  lichens  ;  and  where  the  melting  snows  aftbrd  a  sufficient 
moisture,  sphagnum,  mosses,  and  a  few  weeds  occupy  the  marshy  ground.  The 
frozen  earth  has  no  springs,  and  yet  these  desolate  islands  have  a  more  south- 
erly situation  than  the  Orkneys,  Avhere  barley  grows  to  ripeness.  Before 
these  islands  were  discovered  by  the  Russians  they  had  been  for  ages  the  un- 
disturbed home  of  the  sea-birds  and  the  large  cetacean  seals.  Under  Russian 
superintendence,  some  Aleuts  have  now  been  settled  on  both  of  them.  The 
innumerable  herds  of  sea-lions,  which  cover  the  naked  shores  of  St.  George 
as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  present  a  strange  sight.  The  guillemots  have 
taken  possession  of  the  places  unoccupied  by  their  families  and  fly  fearlessly 
among  them,  or  nestle  in  the  crevices  of  the  wave-worn  rock-walls,  or  between 
the  large  boulders  which  form  a  bank  along  the  strand. 

Still  farther  to  the  north  lies  the  uninhabited  island  of  St.  Matthew  (02° 
N.  lat.).  A  settlement  was  once  attempted  ;  but  as  the  animals  which  had 
been  reckoned  upon  for  the  winter  supply  of  food  departed,  the  unfortunate 
colonists  all  died  of  hunger. 

Fogs  are  so  frequent  about  the  island  of  St.  Laurence  that  navigators  have 
often  passed  close  by  it  (65°  N.  lat.)  without  seeing  it.  Chamisso  Avas  sur- 
prised a't  the  beauty  and  the  numbers  of  its  dwarfisli  flowering  herbs,  which 
reminded  him  of  the  highlands  of  Switzerland,  while  the  neighboring  St. 
Laurence  Bay,  in  the  land  of  the  Tchuktchi,  was  the  image  of  wintry  desola- 
tion. In  July  the  lowlands  were  covered  with  snow-fields,  and  the  few  plants 
bore  the  Alpine  character  in  the  most  marked  degree.  Under  this  inclement 
sky,  the  mountains,  unprotected  by  vegetation,  rapidly  fall  into  decay.  Every 
winter  splits  the  rocks,  and  the  summer  torrents  carry  tiie  fragments  down  to 
their  feet.  The  ground  is  everywhere  covered  with  blocks  of  stone,  unless 
where  the  sphagnum,  by  the  accumulation  of  its  decomposed  remains,  has 
formed  masses  of  peat  in  the  swampy  lowlands. 

On  sailing  through  Bering's  Straits,  the  traveller  may  see,  in  clear  weather, 
both  the  Old  and  the  New  World.  On  both  sides  rise  high  mountains,  pre- 
cipitously from  the  water's  edge  in  Asia,  but  separated  from  the  sea  by  a 
broad  alluvial  belt  on  the  American  side.  The  sea  is  deepest  on  the  Asiatic 
border,  where  the  current,  flowing  from  the  south  with  considerable  rapidity, 
has  also  the  greatest  force.  Here  also  Avhales  may  be  often  seen,  and  large 
herds  of  walruses. 

In  former  times  the  baidar  of  the  Esquimaux  was  the  only  boat  ever  seen 
in  the  straits,  and  since  Semen  Deshnew,  who  first  sailed  round  the  eastern 
point  of  Asia,  European  navigators  had  but  rarely  passed  them  to  explore  the 
seas  beyond ;  but  recently  this  remotest  part  of  the  Avorld  has  become  the 
scene  of  an  active  whale-fishery. 


272 


THE   POLAR  WORLD. 


A   BAIDAK. 


The  shores  of  Bering  Sea  are  naked  and  bleak,  and  the  numerous  volca- 
noes of  the  Aleutian  chain  pour  out  their  lava-streams  over  unknown  Avilder- 
nesses.  But  the  waters  of  the  sea  are  teeming  with  life.  Gigantic  algae,  such 
as  are  never  seen  in  the  torrid  zone,  form,  round  the  rocky  coasts,  vast  sub- 
marine forests.  A  host  of  fishes,  whales,  walruses,  and  seals,  fill  the  sea  and 
its  shores,  and  innumerable  sea-birds  occupy  the  cliffs.  But  these  treasures 
of  the  ocean,  Avhich  for  ages  furnished  the  Aleuts  and  other  wild  tribes  with 
the  means  of  existence,  have  also  been  the  cause  of  their  servitude.  Had  the 
sea-otter  not  existed,  the  wild  children  of  the  soil  might  possibly  still  be  in 
possession  of  their  ancient  freedom ;  and  but  for  the  sea-bear  and  the  walrus, 
the  whale  and  the  seal,  the  banners  of  the  Czar  would  scarcely  have  met  the 
flag  of  England  on  the  continent  of  America. 

As  the  whole  fur-trade  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territory  is  concentrated  in 
the  hands  of  one  mighty  company,  thus  also  one  powerful  association  enjoys 
the  exclusive  commerce  of  the  eastern  possession  of  Russia.  The  regions  un- 
der the  authority  of  the  Russian  Fur  Company*  occupy  an  immense  space,  as 
they  comprise  not  only  all  the  islands  of  Bering  Sea,  but  also  the  American 
coasts  down  to  55°  K  lat.  The  extreme  points  of  this  vast  territory  are  situ- 
ated at  a  greater  distance  from  each  other  than  London  from  Tobolsk,  but  the 
importance  of  its  trade  bears  no  i^roportion  to  its  extent. 

The  company,  which  w^as  founded  in  the  year  1799,  under  the  Emperor 
•Paul,  had,  in  1839,  thirty-six  hunting  settlements  on  its  own  territory  (the 
Kurile  Islands,  the  Aleutic  chain,  Aliaska,  Bristol  Bay,  Cook's  Inlet,  Norton 
Sound,  etc.),  besides  a  chain  of  agencies  from  Ochotsk  to  St.  Petersburg.  Its 
chief  seat  is  New  Archangel,  on  Sitka,  one  of  the  many  islands  of  King 
George  III.'s  Archipelago,  first  accurately  explored  by  Vancouver.  The  mag- 
nificent Bay  of  Norfolk,  at  the  head  of  which  the  small  town  is  situated, 
greatly  resembles  a  Norwegian  fjord,  as  we  here  find  the  same  steep  I'ock- 

*  Since  last  year  [1867]  the  Russian  Government  has  sold  her  Amfrican  possessions  to  the  United 
States,  but  as  it  is  not  yet  known  how  far  the  interests  of  the  Russian  Fur  Company  have  been  affected 
by  ihc  change,  I  may  be  allowed  to  speak  of  her  in  the  present  tense. 


BERING   SEA— THE   ALEUTS.  273 

walls  bathing  their  precipitous  sides  in  the  emerald  waters,  and  clotlied  with 
dense  pine  forests  wherever  a  tree  can  grow. 

A  number  of  islets  scattered  over  the  surface  of  the  bay  add  to  the  beauty 
of  the  scene.  The  furs  collected  by  the  company  are  chiefly  those  of  sea- 
bears,  sea-otters,  foxes,  beavers,  bears,  lynxes,  American  martens,  etc.,  and  are 
partly  furnished  by  the  subjects  of  its  own  territory  (Aleuts,  Kadjacks,  Ke- 
naizos,  Tchugatchi,  Aliaskans),  who  are  compelled  to  hunt  on  its  account,  and 
partly  obtained  by  barter  from  the  independent  tribes  oX  the  mainland,  or 
from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The  greater  part  is  sent  to  Ochotsk  or 
the  Amoor,  and  from  thence  through  Siberia  to  St.  Petersburg  ;  the  rest  to  the 
Chinese  ports,  where  the  skins  of  the  young  sea-bear  always  find  a  ready 
market. 

Of  all  the  aboriginal  tribes  which  inhabit  the  vast  territory  of  Russian 
America,  the  most  worthy  of  notice  is  that  of  the  Aleuts.  Less  fortunate 
than  their  independent  relatives,  the  Esquimaux  of  the  north — who  in  the 
midst  of  privations  maintain  an  imperturbable  gayety  of  temper^ — these  isl- 
anders have  been  effectually  spirit-broken  under  a  foreign  yoke.  In  1817 
the  cruel  treatment  of  their  masters  had  reduced  them  to  about  a  thousand ; 
since  that  time  their  number  has  somewhat  increased,  the  company  having  at 
length  discovered  that  man  is,  after  all,  the  most  valuable  production  of  a 
land,  and  that  if  depopulation  increased  still  further,  they  would  soon  have 
no  more  hunters  to  supply  them  with  furs. 

Every  Aleut  is  bound,  after  his  eighteenth  year,  to  serve  the  company 
three  years ;  and  this  forced  labor-tax  does  not  seem  at  first  sight  immode- 
rate, but  if  we  consider  that  the  islanders,  to  whom  every  foreign  article  is 
supplied  from  the  warehouses  of  the  company,  are  invariably  its  debtors,  we 
can  not  doubt  that  as  long  as  the  Aleut  is  able  to  hunt,  he  is  obliged  to  do  so 
for  the  wages  of  a  slave.  The  Bishop  Ivan  Weniaminow,  who  resided  ten 
years  at  Unalaska,  draws  a  picture  of  this  people  which  exhibits  evident 
marks  of  a  long  servitude.  They  never  quarrel  among  each  other,  and  their 
patience  is  exemplary.  Nothing  can  surpass  the  fortitude  with  which  they 
endure  pain.  On  the  other  hand,  they  never  show  excessive  joy;  it  seems 
impossible  to  raise  their  feelings  to  the  pitch  of  delight.  Even  after  a  long 
fast,  a  child  never  grasps  with,  eagerness  the  proffered  morsel,  nor  does  it  on 
any  occasion  exhibit  the  mirth  so  natural  to  its  age. 

In  hunting  the  marine  animals,  the  Aleuts  exhibit  a  wonderful  skill  and  in- 
trepidity. To  catch  the  sea-otter,  they  assemble  in  April  or  May  at  an  ap- 
pointed spot,  in  their  light  skin  boats,  or  baidars,  and  choose  one  of  their  most 
respected  chiefs  for  the  leader  of  the  expedition,  which  generally  numbers 
from  fifty  to  a  hundred  boats.  Such  hunting-parties  are  annually  organized 
from  the  Kurile  Islands  to  Kadjack,  and  consequently  extend  their  operations 
over  a  line  of  3000  miles.  On  the  first  fine  day  the  expedition  sets  out  and 
proceeds  to  a  distance  of  about  forty  verets  from  the  coast,  when  the  baidars 
form  into  a  long  line,  leaving  an  interval  of  about  250  fathoms  from  boat  to 
boat,  as  far  as  a  sea-otter  diving  out  of  the  water  can  be  seen,  so  that  a  row 
of  thirty  baidars  occupies  a  space  of  from  ten  to  twelve  versts.     When  the 

18 


274  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

number  of  the  boats  is  greater,  the  intervals  are  reduced.  Every  man  now 
looks  upon  the  sea  with  great  attention.  Nothing  escapes  the  eye  of  the 
Aleut ;  in  the  smallest  black  spot  appearing  but  one  moment  over  the  surface 
of  the  Vv-aters,  he  at  once  recognizes  a  sea-otter.  The  baidar  which  first  sees 
the  animal  rows  rapidly  towards  the  spot  where  the  creature  dived,  and  now 
the  Aleut,  holding  his  oar  straight  up  in  the  air,  remains  motionless  on  the 
spot.  Immediately  the  whole  squadron  is  on  the  move,  and  the  long,  straight 
line  changes  into  a  wide  circle,  the  centre  of  which  is  occupied  by  the  baidar 
with  the  raised  oar.  The  otter,  not  being  able  to  remain  long  under  water,  re- 
appears, and  the  nearest  Aleut  immediately  greets  him  with  an  arrow.  This 
first  attack  is  seldom  mortal ;  very  often  the  missile  does  not  even  reach  its 
mark,  and  the  sea-otter  instantly  disappears.  Again  the  oar  rises  from  the 
next  baidar ;  again  the  circle  forms,  but  this  time  narrower  than  at  first ;  the 
fatigued  otter  is  obliged  to  come  oftener  to  the  surface,  arrows  fly  from  all 
sides,  and  finally  the  animal,  killed  by  a  mortal  shot,  or  exhausted  by  repeat- 
ed wounds,  falls  to  the  share  of  the  archer  who  has  hit  it  nearest  to  the  head. 
If  several  otters  appear  at  the  same  time,  the  boats  form  as  many  rings,  pro- 
vided their  number  be  sufficiently  great. 

The  boldest  of  all  hunters,  the  Aleuts  of  the  Fox  Islands,  pursue  the  sea-ot- 
ter also  in  winter.  If,  during  the  summer  chase,  the  rapidity  and  regularity 
with  which  all  the  movements  are  performed,  and  the  sure  eye  and  aim  of  the 
archers  command  the  spectator's  admiration,  this  winter  chase  gives  him  occa- 
sion to  wonder  at  their  courage.  During  the  severest  winter-storms  the  otter 
shelters  himself  on  the  shore  of  some  small  uninhabited  island  or  on  a  solitary 
rock,  and  after  having  carefully  ascertained  that  no  enemy  is  near,  coils  himself 
up  and  falls  asleep.  While  the  storm  still  rages,  two  Aleuts  approach  the  rock 
in  two  single  baidars  from  the  leeward.  The  hunter  in  the  foremost  baidar 
stands  upright,  a  gun  or  a  club  in  his  hand,  and  waits  in  this  position  till  a 
wave  brings  him  near  to  the  summit  of  the  rock.  He  now  springs  on  land, 
and  while  his  companion  takes  care  of  the  baidar,  approaches  the  sleeping  otter 
and  shoots  it  or  kills  it  with  his  club.  With  the  assistance  of  his  companion 
who  has  remained  on  the  water,  he  springs  back  into  his  baidar  as  soon  as  the 
crest  of  a  wave  brings  it  within  his  reach. 

The  sea-bear  is  nearly  as  valuable  as  the  sea-otter  to  the  fur  company,  as  the 
woolly  skin  of  the  young  animal  is  the  only  one  of  the  whole  seal  tribe  Avhich 
is  reckoned  among  the  finer  peltry.  The  sea-bears  are  chiefly  killed  on  the 
Commodore  and  Pribilow  islands,  particularly  on  St.  Paul,  where  they  are 
hunted  by  a  certain  number  of  Aleuts  located  there  under  Russian  superin- 
tendence. The  chase  begins  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  on  a  cold,  foggy 
day,  when  the  wind  blows  from  the  side  where  the  animals  are  assembled  on 
the  rocky  shore.  The  boldest  huntsmen  open  the  way,  then  follow  the  older 
people  and  the  children,  and  the  chief  personage  of  the  band  comes  last,  to  be 
the  better  able  to  direct  and  survey  the  movements  of  his  men,  who  are  all 
armed  with  clubs.  The  main  object  is  to  cut  off" the  herd  as  quickly  as  possi- 
ble from  the  sea.  All  the  grown-up  males  and  females  are  spared  and  allowed 
to  escape,  but  most  of  the  young  animals  are  sentenced  to  death.      Those 


BERING   SEA— THE   ALEUTS.  27.-) 

which  are  only  four  months  old  (their  furs  being  most  highly  prized)  arc 
doomed  without  exception ;  while  of  the  others  that  have  attained  an  age  of 
one,  two,  or  three  years,  only  the  males  are  killed.  For  several  days  after  the 
massacre,  the  mothers  swim  about  the  island,  seeking  and  loudly  wailing  for 
their  young. 

From  October  5  St.  Paul  is  gradually  deserted  by  the  sea-bears,  who  then 
migrate  to  the  south  and  re-appear  towards  the  end  of  April,  the  males  arriving 
first.  Each  seeks  the  same  spot  on  the  shore  which  he  occupied  during  the 
preceding  year,  and  lies  down  among  the  large  stone  blocks  with  which  the  flat 
beach  is  covered.  About  the  middle  of  May  the  far  more  numerous  females 
begin  to  make  their  appearance,  and  the  sea-bear  families  take  full  possession 
of  the  strand.  Each  male  is  the  sultan  of  a  herd  of  females,  varying  in  number 
according  to  his  size  and  strength ;  the  weaker  brethren  contenting  themselves 
with  half  a  dozen,  while  some  of  the  sturdier  and  fiercer  fellows  preside  over 
harems  200  strong.  Jealousy  and  intrusion  frequently  give  rise  to  terrible  bat- 
tles. The  full-grown  male  sea-bear,  who  is  about  four  or  five  times  larger  than 
the  female,  grows  to  the  length  of  eight  feet,  and  owes  his  name  to  his  shaggy 
blackish  fur,  and  not  to  his  disposition,  which  is  far  from  being  cruel  or  savage. 

Armed  with  a  short  spear,  a  single  Aleut  does  not  hesitate  to  attack  the  co- 
lossal whale.  Approaching  cautiously  from  behind  in  his  baidar  until  he  reach- 
es the  head,  he  plunges  his  weapon  into  the  animal's  flank  under  the  fore  fin, 
and  then  retreats  as  fast  as  his  oar  can  carry  him.  If  the  spear  has  penetrated 
into  the  flesh,  the  whale  is  doomed ;  it  dies  within  the  ne^t  two  or  three  days, 
and  the  currents  and  the  waves  drift  the  cai'cass  to  the  next  shore.  Each 
spear  has  its  peculiar  mark  by  which  the  owner  is  recognized.  Sometimes  the 
baidar  does  not  escape  in  time,  and  the  whale,  maddened  by  pain,  furiously 
lashes  the  water  with  his  tail,  and  throws  the  baidar  high  up  into  the  air,  or 
sinks  it  deep  into  the  sea.  The  whale-fishers  are  highly  esteemed  among  the 
Aleuts,  and  their  intrepidity  and  skill  well  deserve  the  general  admiration.  Of 
course  many  of  the  whales  are  lost.  In  the  summer  of  1831,  118  Avhales  were 
wounded  near  Kadjack,  of  which  only  forty-three,  were  found.  The  others 
may  have  been  wafted  far  out  into  the  sea  to  regale  the  sharks  and  sea-birds, 
or  driven  to  more  distant  shores,  whose  inhabitants  no  doubt  gladly  welcomed 
their  landing.  Wrangell  informs  us  that  since  1833  the  Russians  have  intro- 
duced the  use  of  the  harpoon,  and  engaged  some  English  harpooners  to  teach 
the  Aleuts  a  more  profitable  method  of  whale-catching,  but  we  are  not  told 
how  the  experiment  has  sixcceeded. 

The  company,  besides  purchasing  a  great  quantity  of  walrus-teeth  from  the 
Tchuktchi  of  the  Bering's  Straits  and  Bristol  Bay,  send  every  year  a  detach- 
ment of  Aleuts  to  the  north  coast  of  Aliaska,  where  generally  a  large  number 
of  young  walruses,  probably  driven  away  by  the  older  ones,  who  prefer  the  vi- 
cinity of  the  polar  ice,  spend  the  summer  months. 

The  walruses  herd  on  the  lowest  edge  of  the  coast  which  is  within  reach  of 
the  spring  tides.  When  the  Aleuts  prepare  to  attack  the  animals,  they  take 
leave  of  each  other  as  if  they  were  going  to  face  death,  being  no  less  afraid  of 
the  tusks  of  the  walruses  than  of  the  awkwardness  of  their  own  companions. 


376  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

Armed  with  lances  and  heavy  axes,  they  stealthily  approach  the  walruses,  and 
having  disposed  their  ranks,  suddenly  fall  upon  them  with  loud  shouts,  and  en- 
deavor to  drive  them  from  the  sea,  taking  care  that  none  of  them  escape  into 
the  water,  as  in  that  case  the  rest  would  irresistibly  follow  and  precipitate  the 
huntsmen  along  with  them.  As  soon  "as  the  walruses  have  been  driven  far 
enough  up  the°  strand,  the  Aleuts  attack  them  with  their  lances,  striking  at 
them°in  places  where  the  hide  is  not  so  thick,  and  then  pressing  with  all  their 
might  against  the  spear,  to  render  the  wound  deep  and  deadly.  Thfe  slaughter- 
ed animlls  tumble  one  over  the  other  and  form  large  heaps,  whilst  the  hunts- 
men, uttering  furious  shouts  and  intoxicated  with  carnage,  wade  through  the 
bloody  mire.  They  then  cleave  the  jaws  and  extract  the  tusks,  which  are  the 
chief  objects  of  the  slaughter  of  several  thousand  walruses,  since  neither  their 
flesh  nor  their  fat  is  made  use  of  in  the  colony.  The  carcasses  are  left  on  the 
shore  to  be  washed  away  by  the  spring  tides,  which  soon  efface  the  mark  of  the 
massacre,  and  in  the  following  year  the  inexhaustible  north  sends  new  victims 
to  the  coast. 

Sir  George  Simpson,  in  his  "  Overland  Journey  round  the  World,"  relates 
that  the  bales  of  fur  sent  to  Kiachta  are  covered  Avith  walrus  hide ;  it  is  then 
made  to  protect  the  tea-chests  which  find  their  way  to  Moscow,  and  after  all 
these  wanderings,  the  far-travelled  skin  returns  again  to  New  Archangel,  where, 
cut  into  small  pieces  and  stamped  Avith  the  company's  mark,  it  serves  as  a  me- 
dium of  exchange. 

The  skin  of  the  «ea-lion  ( Otaria  Stelleri)  has  but  little  value  in  the  fur- 
trade,  as  its  hair  is  short  and  coarse,  but  in  many  other  respects  the  unwieldy 
animal  is  of  considerable  use  to  the  Aleut.  Its  hide  serves  to  cover  his  bai> 
dar ;  with  the  entrails  he  makes  his  water-tight  kamleika,  a  wide,  long  shirt 
which  he  puts  on  over  his  dress  to  protect  himself  against  the  rain  or  the 
spray ;  the  thick  webs  of  its  flippers  furnish  excellent  soles  for  his  boots,  and 
the  bristles  of  its  lip  figure  as  ornaments  in  his  head-dress. 


ALASKA. 


FOBT   ST.  MICHAEL. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

ALASKA. 

Purchase  of  Alaska  by  .the  United  States.— The  Russian  American  Telegraph  Scheme.— Whymper's 
Trip  up  the  Yukon.— Dogs. — The  Start.— E.xtempore  Water-lilter.— Snow-shoes.— The  Frozen  Yu- 
kon.—Under-ground  Houses.— Life  at  Nulato.— Cold  Weather.— Auroras.— Approach  of  Summer. 
— Breaking-up  of  the  Ice.— Fort  Yukon. — Furs.— Descent  of  the  Yukon.— Value  of  Goods. — Arctic 
and  Tropical  Life.— Moose-hunting.— Deer-corrals.— Lip  Ornaments. — Canoes. — Four-post  Coffin. 
— The  Kenaian  Indians. — The  Aleuts. — Value  of  Alaska. 

IN  1867  the  Russian  Government  sold  to  the  United  States  all  of  its  posses- 
sions in  America,' comprising  an  area  of  more  than  500,000  square  miles,  equal 
in  extent  to  France,  Germany,  and  Great  Britain,  stretching  from  54°  40'  north 
latitude  to  the  Arctic  Ocean.  The  sum  paid  was  about  seven  and  a  quarter 
millions  of  dollars.  In  this  purchase  is  included  Mount  St.  Elias,  the  highest 
peak  in  North  America,  rising  to  a  height  of  more  than  18,000  feet,  and  one  of 
the  loftiest  single  peaks  on  the  globe.  The  real  value  of  this  new  acquisition 
was  quite  unknown  to  both  buyer  and  seller.  In  the  southern  part,  and  on  the 
islands,  there  is  considerable  vegetation  and  forests  of  large  trees  ;  and  it  is 
said  that  there  is  some  mineral  wealth.  But  the  greater  part  of  the  territory 
is  essentially  Arctic.  It  now  bears  the  designation  of  the  Territory  of  Alaska, 
an  abbreviation  of  AUaska,  the  name  of  the  peninsula  stretching  into  the  North 
Pacific  Ocean. 

Little  information  has  as  yet  been  gained  of  this  region.  The  most  impor- 
tant is  the  result  of  a  journey  up  the  River  Yukon,  performed  in  1866  by  Mr. 
Frederick  Whymper,  an  artist  connected  with  the  Telegraph  E.xpedition.  This 
telegraph  enterprise  was  undertaken  in  the  confident  expectation  that  the  ca- 


278  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

bles  laid  directly  across  the  Atlantic  would  fail,  and  that  telegraphic  communica- 
tions between  London  and  New  York  must  be  mainly  by  laud.  The  proposed 
line,  starting  from  the  mouth  of  the  Amoor,  to  which  point  it  was  already  con- 
structed, should  bend  around  the  head  of  the  Sea  of  Okotsch,  thence  run  east- 
ward and  northward  through  Kamchatka  to  the  63d  degree  of  north  lati- 
tude, then  cross  the  narrow  Strait  of  Berhig,  and  run  southward  through  what 
was  then  Russian  America,  British  Columbia,  Washington  Territory,  and  Ore- 
gon, to  San  Francisco ;  thence  across  the  American  continent  to  New  York. 
A  dispatch  from  London  to  New  York  by  this  route  would  travel  something 
more  than  25,000  miles,  while  the  distance  in  a  straight  line  across  the  Atlantic 
was  about  3000  miles.  The  company  undertaking  this  enterprise  had  survey- 
ed a  considerable  part  of  the  distance,  and  expended  some  milhons  of  dollars, 
when  it  Avas  announced  that  the  Atlantic  cable  was  a  success,  and  the  work  was 
abandoned. 

In  the  mean  while  Mr.  Whymper  undertook  a  trip  up  the  great  River  Yu- 
kon. This  is  essentially  an  Arctic  river,  though  its  mouth  is  far  southward  of 
the  Arctic  Circle.  It  is  probably  the  greatest  of  the  Arctic  rivers,  and  in  length 
and  volume  of  water  is  exceeded  by  not  more  than  six  rivers  of  the  globe. 

The  party  of  which  Mr.  Whymper  was  one  consisted  of  six  Europeans  and 
three  Indians.  In  October,  1865,  they  started  from  Unalachleet,  on  Norton 
Sound.  A  trip  of  200  miles  would  bring  them  to  Nulato,  a  Russian  trading- 
post  TOO  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  which  here  runs  almost  parallel 
with  the  coast. 

They  were  to  travel  on  foot  over  frozen  rivers  and  through  deep  snow.  To 
convey  their  supplies  they  had  four  sledges,  each  drawn  by  five  dogs.  Such  a 
team  will  draw  about  350  pounds.  The  dogs  of  this  region  are  not  of  a  good 
class.  Mr.  Whym})er  thinks  they  have  in  them  quite  as  much  of  the  wolf  as  of 
the  dog.  Their  usual  food  is  fish ;  their  regular  daily  allowance  in  winter  is  a 
dried  salmon  a  day :  in  summer  they  are  expected  to  fish  for  themselves.  They 
will,  however,  eat  almost  any  thing,  and,  if  they  can  get  enough,  will  grow  fat 
upon  it.  They  even  took  kindly  to  beans,  provided  they  "were  boiled  soft — a 
thing  which  Kane  could  never  induce  his  Esquimaux  dogs  to  undertake. 

They  set  out  on  the  27th  of  October  at  11  o'clock — that  is,  just  after  sun- 
rise— the  thermometer  standing  at  30°  below  freezing-point.  Their  trip  was 
begun  a  little  too  early,  for  the  deep  snow  had  not  become  packed  hard,  and  a 
bit  of  thaw  would  transform  it  into  slush ;  and  the  streams  Avhich  they  had  to 
cross  were  not  all  frozen  over.  Fortunately,  they  had  a  light  skin  boat,  which 
not  only  stood  them  in  good  stead  now,  but  served  them  afterwards  for  more 
than  a  thousand  miles  of  winter  travel.  Whenever  they  came  to  a  frozen 
stream,  the  Indians  would  break  a  hole  through  the  ice  to  get  a  draught  of 
water.  They  always  filled  up  the  hole  with  loose  snow,  through  which  they 
sucked  the  water.  This  they  said  was  to  filter  out  the  little  red  worms  with 
which  they  said  the  water  was  infested. 

The  travellers  wore  snow-shoes  ;  the  use  of  which,  although  indispensable  in 
going  over  the  soft  snow,  is  veiy  fatiguing,  obliging  the  wearers  to  lift  a  dozen 
pounds  of  snow  at  every  step.     Sometimes  they  had  to  break  a  path  for  the 


ALASKA. 


279 


sledges.  The  men  would  go  on  aliead  for  a  space,  then  return  and  start  on 
again,  thus  traversing  the  distance  three  times.  Often  they  could  not  accom- 
plish more  than  ten  miles  a  day. 


At  noon  on  the  11th  of  November,  a  fortnight  after  starting,  they  caught 
in  the  distance  a  glimpse  of  a  faint  bluish  streak,  varying  the  white  monotony 


280  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

of  the  scene.  This  they  knew  marked  the  course  of  the  great  river  towards 
which  they  were  tending.  Pushing  eagerly  on,  at  sunset  they  broke  out  of  the 
woods,  shot  down  a  steep  bank,  and  stood  on  an  immense  phiiu  of  snow-covered 
ice.  It  was  tlie  Yukon,  frozen  solidly  over  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  except 
that  here  and  there  was  a  faint  streak  of  open  water.  From  bank  to  bank  the 
distance  was  more  than  a  mile,  and  this  they  afterwards  found  Avas  the  normal 
breadth  of  the  river  for  seven  hundred  miles  below,  and  a  thousand  miles  above. 
Not  unfrequently  it  spread  out  into  broad  lagoons  four  or  five  miles  wide.  The 
Yukon  is  one  of  the  great  rivers  of  the  globe.  In  length  and  volume  of  water 
it  is  exceeded  only  by  the  Amazon,  the  Mississippi,  and  perhaps  the  Plata.  It 
exceeds  the  Nile,  the  Ganges,  the  Volga,  the  Amoor,  and  has  affluents  to  which 
the  Rhine  and  Rhone  are  but  brooks.  It  rises  far  within  the  British  Posses- 
sions, and  its  head-waters  almost  interlock  with  those  of  the  Mackenzie,  which 
empties  into  the  Arctic  Ocean.  A  portage  of  only  eighty  miles  intervenes  be- 
tween these  rivers  at  points  whei-e  each  is  navigable  for  boats  forty  feet  long, 
and  drawing  two  feet  of  water.  Over  this  portage  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
transport  upon  men's  backs  the  goods  for  trading  with  the  Indians  on  the  Up- 
per Yukon.  Mr.  Whymper  thinks  that  a  flat-bottomed  stern-wheel  steamer, 
like  those  used  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  could  ascend  the  Yukon  for  eighteen 
hundred  miles,  and  tap  the  whole  fur-bearing  region.  But  as  the  river  is  frozen 
solid  for  eight  months  out  of  the  twelve,  the  steamer  could  hardly  make  more 
than  one  trip  a  year. 

The  travellers  stopped  two  days  at  the  Indian  winter  village  of  Coltog.  The 
houses  were  built  mainly  under-ground.  First,  a  little  shanty  is  put  up,  under 
which  a  hole  like  a  well  is  dug ;  thence  a  branch  like  a  sewer  runs  some  yards, 
aloiK"-  which  one  must  crawl  on  hands  and  knees  to  reagh  the  proper  dwelUng, 


ti::-rr^.. 


UNDER-GRODNU   UOUSE. 


which  is  a  square  hole  in  the  earth,  ox'er  which  is  raised  a  low  dome-shaped 
roof,  with  a  hole  in  the  top  to  let  out  the  smoke  of  the  fire,  which  is« built  di- 
rectly underneath.  When  the  fire  gets  low  the  smoke-hole  is  covered  with  a 
skin,  which  keeps  in  not  only  the  heat  but  the  manifold  scents  engendered  by 
the  crowded  occupancy.  The  slight  heat  from  below  makes  the  roof  a  favoi'ite 
try  sting-place  for  the  dogs,  and  every  now  and  then  one  comes  tumbling  down 
through  the  smoke-hole  upon  the  tire  below,  adding  the  odor  of  singed  hair  to 
those  arising  from  stale  fish,  old  skin  garments,  and  other  unnamable  abomina- 
tions. Coltog  is  a  rather  favorable  sample  of  an  Indian  winter  village  in  Alaska. 
From  Coltog  the  travellers  proceeded  up  the  river  two  days'  journey  to  Nu- 
lato,  the  most  northern  and  most  inland  of  the  Russian  Company's  fur-posts. 


ALASKA. 


281 


It  stands  in  latitude  65°,  and  longitude  158°,  upon  a  level  slip  of  land  bounded 
on  two  sides  by  the  great  river  and  one  of  its  main  branches.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  high  latitude,  trees  of  considerable  size  grow  there,  and  during  the  brief 
summer  the  grass  is  luxuriant,  and  berries  abound.  The  post  is  a  little  fortress, 
surrounded  by  a  picket,  which  is  closed  at  night  to  exclude  the  Indians,  who 
camp  around  in  large  numbers.  The  house  appropriated  to  the  travellers  was 
built  of  logs,  forming  one  side  of  the  little  square.  The  windows  were  of  seal- 
gut  instead  of  glass ;  and  as  there  is  during  the  winter  only  two  or  three  hours 
of  daylight,  the  light  was  never  any  of  the  best.  By  caulking  the  floor  with 
moss,  and  carpeting  it  with  skins,  the  main  room  was  kept^comfortably  warm, 
except  near  the  floor.  If  one  hung  a  damp  garment  from  the  rafters  it  would 
steam  at  the  top,  while  frozen  stiff  at  the  bottom.  The  temperature  at  the 
roof  was  sometimes  65°,  while  near  the  floor  it  was  4°.  Water  for  daily  use 
was  hauled  on  a  sledge  from  the  river.  To  get  at  it,  they  were  obliged  to 
break  through  solid  ice  four  feet  thick.  Nevertheless,  the  Indians  contrive  to 
catch  immense  quantities  of  fish  by  constructing  a  weir  of  wicket-work,  and 
keeping  holes  open  in  the  ice. 


FISH-TBAPS  ON  THE  YUKON. 


Winter  fairly  set  in  soon  after  the  party  had  taken  up  their  abode  at  Nulato. 
On  the  2d  of  November  the  thermometer  indicated  the  moderate  temperature  of 
2°  above  zero.  It  suddenly  fell  to  20°  below  zero,  and  kept  on  steadily  falling 
until  the  5th  of  December,  when  it  sunk  to  58°  below  zero,  that  is,  ninety  de- 
grees below  the  freezing-point  of  water.  This  was  the  coldest  day,  but  there 
were  during  December  and  January  eleven  days  when  the  thermometer  sunk 
below  the  freezing-point  of  mercury.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  after  a  certain 
point  the  human  system  seems  to  take  little  additional  note  of  the  temperature 
as  indicated  by  the  thermometer.  When  the  mercury  froze,  72°  below  the 
freezing-point  of  water,  it  did  not  seem  very  cold,  provided  there  was  no  wind ; 
while  one  day  when  the  thermometer  was  44°  higher,  we  find  this  note :  "  A 
north  wind  blew,  and  made  us  feel  the  cold  very  decidedly.  It  is  wonderful 
how  searching  the  wind  is  in  this  northern  climate  ;  each  little  seam,  slit,  or 


283 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


tear  in  your  fur  or  woollen  clothing  makes  you  aware  of  its  existence,  and 
one's  nose,  ears,  and  angles  generally  are  the  special  sufferers,"  One  day  when 
the  thermometer  stood  at  10°,  an  expedition  started  off  for  the  coast :  and  once 
when  it  was  at  32°,  a  half-clad  Indian  came  to  the  post  with  his  child,  no  better 


JiiiEiEiS^^^^^^^^^ 


clad,  bringing  some  game ;  he  did  not  seem  to  think  the  day  remarkably  cold. 
The  shortest  day  of  the  winter  was  December  21,  when  the  sun  was  an  hour 
and  fifty  minutes  above  the  horizon. 

During  the  winter  Mr.  Whymper  made  many  capital  sketches  out-of-doors, 
while  tlie  temperature  Avas  sixty  degrees  below  freezing-point.     Among  these 


ALASKA.  283 

is  a  remarkable  aurora  borealis  on  the  21st  of  December.     It  was  not  the  con- 
ventional arch,  but  a  gracefixl,  undulating,  ever-changing  snake  of  pale  electric 


light ;  evanescent  colors,  pale  as  those  of  a  lunar  rainbow,  ever  and  again  flit- 
ting through  it,  and  long  streamers  and  scintillations  moving  upward  to  the 
bright  stars,  which  shone  distinctly  through  its  hazy  ethereal  form.     The  night 


284  TIIE  POLAR  WORLD. 

was  beautifully  calm  and  clear;  cold,  but  not  intensely  so,  the  thermometer 
standing  at  +1G°. 

•  So  passed  the  long  winter  months.  Early  in  April  there  came  signs  of  sum- 
mer— for  in  the  Arctic  regions  there  is  properly  no  spring  or  autumn.  On  the 
9th  flies  made  their  appearance.  Next  day  the  willows  were  seen  buddinir. 
But  for  another  fortnight  the  weather  was  variable.  On  the  28th  the  first 
goose  put  in  his  appearance.  But  for  another  fortnight  the  ice  in  the  river  re- 
mained unbroken.  The  first  sign  of  breaking  up  was  on  the  12th  of  May. 
That  day  mosquitoes  showed  themselves.  Next  day  came  swallows  and  wild 
geese  in  abundance.  Still  another  fortnight,  during  which  a  steady  stream  of 
broken  ice  came  down,  bearing  with  it  whole  trees  torn  up  from  the  banks. 
On  the  24th  of  May  the  river  was  tolerably  clear  of  ice. 

The  Russians  had  already  got  ready  for  a  trading-excursion  up  the  Yukon 
to  an  Indian  trading-place  240  miles  above,  the  farthest  point  ever  visited  by 
them.  They  had  a  huge  skin  boat,  fitted  with  mast  and  sail,  manned  by  eight 
men,  carrying,  besides  men  and  provisions,  two  tons  of  goods.  The  Americans 
went  with  them,  though  meaning  to  go  far  beyond.  They  had  their  own  little 
boat,  laden  with  six  or  seven  hundred  pounds  of  stores  of  all  kinds.  The  river 
was  still  full  of  ice  and  drift-wood.  A  large  tree  would  sometimes  pass  under 
the  bow  of  the  Russian  boat,  and  fairly  lift  it  out  of  the  water.  These  skin 
boats  seem  to  be  the  best  of  all  for  this  kind  of  navigation.  They  give  way 
without  harm  to  a  blow  which  would  break  through  a  bark' canoe. 

One  can  scarcely  conceive  the  rapidity  with  which  summer  comes  on  in 
these  regions.  On  the  27th  of  May  the  river  was  yet  full  of  ice.  Ten  days 
after  they  had  to  lie  by  during  the  noontide  heat,  the  thermometer  standing  at 
80°  in  the  shade. 

The  Americans  reached  Fort  Yukon  on  the  9th  of  June,  having,  in  twenty- 
nine  days,  rowed  and  tracked  six  hundred  miles.  A  few  weeks  later,  with  the 
current  in  their  favor,  they  descended  the  same  space  in  seven  days.  Fort  Yu- 
kon lies  a  little  within  what  was  formerly  Russian  America,  and  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  paid  a  small  sum  for  the  privilege  of  its  occupancy.  Here  the 
Americans  remained  a  month,  being  hospitably  entertained.  The  fort  had 
quite  a  civilized  look.  There  were  freshly-plastered  Avails,  glazed  windows, 
open  fireplaces,  magazines,  store  -  houses,  and  a  great  fur-room.  Camped 
around  were  Indians  of  many  tribes,  locally  designated  as  "  Foolish  Folks," 
"  Wood  Folks,"  "  Birch-bark  Folks,"  "  Rat  Folks,"  "  Hill  Folks,"  and  the  like. 
Some  wore  their  native  costumes ;  others  were  ti'icked  out  in  the  odds  and 
ends  of  civilized  attire.  The  fur-room  was  a  rare  sight.  From  the  beams 
hung  marten-skins  by  the  thousand,  while  the  cheaper  sorts  were  lying  in  huge 
Heaps  on  the  floor.  Skins  are  here  the  regular  currency.  The  beaver  is  the 
unit,  estimated  at  about  half  a  dollar.  Two  martens  count  as  one  beaver,  and 
so  on  by  a  recognized  scale.  Fox-skins  are  numerous.  The  most  valuable  is 
that  of  the  black  fox,  worth  twenty  times  more  than  any  othei-.  There  is  a  story 
that  an  unlucky  employe  of  the  company  once  bought  the  skin  of  a  white  fox, 
which  the  Indian  seller  had  cunningly  dyed  black,  paying  for  it  more  pounds 
than  he  should  have  paid  shillings.     The  overplus  was  deducted  from  his  salary. 


ALASKA. 


285 


On  the  8th  of  July  the  travellers  started  on  their  return  journey,  under  a 
salute  from  their  hospitable  hosts.  They  canoed  down  the  river  day  and  night, 
only  stopping  two  or  three  times  a  day  to  prepare  their  tea  and  cook  their  fish. 
It  was  a  holiday  excursion,  the  current  sweeping  them  along  at  the  rate  of  four 


miles  an  hour.  Once,  by  aid  of  rowing,  they  made  forty-five  miles  in  seven 
hours.  They  followed  the  river  clear  to  its  mouth.  For  the  seven  hundred 
miles  below  Nulato,  near  where  they  had  struck  the  river  on  their  upward 
journey,  the  region  is  comparatively  pooi*.  It  lies  out  of  the  way  of  traders ; 
fish  are  plenty  and  cheap  enough.     Five  needles  were  considered  a  fair  price 


286 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


for  a  thirty-pound  salmon ;  and,  says  Mr.  Whyraper,  "  tobacco  went  farther 
than  we  had  ever  known  it  to  do  before."  On  the  23d  of  July  they  reached 
tlie  mouth  of  the  river,  whence  two  days'  sailing  up  the  coast  brought  them  to 
St.  IMichael's.     The  whole  voyage  of  1300  miles  between  Fort  Yukon  and  St. 


Michael's  had  taken  fifteen  and  a  half  days.  At  St.  Michael's  they  were  told 
that  the  telegraphic  enterprise  had  been  abandoned,  and  that  all  employed  in  it 
were  to  return  to  California. 

The  result  of  this  expedition  adds  considerably  to  our  knowledge  of  the 


ALASKA. 


287 


Arctic  regions.  It  confirms  what  has  been  told  us  by  Richardson,  Kane,  Hall, 
and  all  other  Arctic  explorers  as  to  the  superabundance  of  animal  life  existing 
in  certain  seasons  in  the  northern  regions.  Strange  as  it  m&y  seem,  tropical 
and  serai-tropical  countries  are  almost  bare  of  living  creatures.  Strain  and  his 
party  Avandered  for  weeks  through  the  thick  forests  of  Central  America,  never 
seeing  an  animal,  and  rarely  a  bird,  and  the  river  appeared  to  be  almost  destitute 
of  fish.  But  life  abounds  in  the  Arctic  regions.  The  rivers  swarm  with  fish 
almost  begging  to  be  caught.  The  Kamchatdales  have  reindeer  by  the  thou- 
sand. Whymper  and  his  friends,  during  their  brief  stay  at  Nulato,  bought 
the  skins  of  eight  hundred  white  hares  with  which  to  cover  their  blankets  ;  the 
Indians  had  used  the  flesh  for  food.  Moose-meat,  varied  by  beaver,  is  the 
standing  food  of  those  who  have  got  tired  of  salmon.  The  delicacies  are  a 
moose's  nose  and  a  beaver's  tail.  So  abundant  are  the  moose  on  the  Yukon 
that  the  natives  think  it  hardly  worth  while  to  waste  powder  and  shot  in  kill- 
ing them.  When  an  Indian  in  his  canoe  comes  upon  a  moose  swimming  in 
the  water,  he  gives  chase  until  the  creature  is  fatigued,  and  then  stabs  it  to  the 
heart  with  his  knife.  They  have  also  an  ingenious  way  of  corralling  deer. 
They  build  a  long  elliptical  inclosure  of  stakes  upon  a  trail  made  by  the  deer. 
Between  each  j)air  of  stakes  is  a  slip-noose.     A  herd  of  deer  is  driven  into  this 

inclosure;    they   try   to    run    out   be- 
\  tween  the  stakes,  get  caught  by  the 

nooses,  and  so  fall  a  ready  prey  to  the 
guns  of  the  hunters. 

The  native  population  of  Alaska 
is  estimated  at  about  60,000.  From 
the  southern  boundary  up  to  Mount 
St.  Elias  and  on  the  islands  live  the 
Koloschians,  estimated  at  20,000. 
They  are  of  middling  stature,  of 
copper-colored  complexion,  with  round 
faces,  thick  lips,  and  black  hair.  The 
men  wear  various  ornaments  in  their 
ears  and  noses ;  the  w' omen,  when 
young,  insert  a  piece  of  ivory  in  a  slit 
made  in  the  under  lip,  increasing  it  in 
size  from  year  to  year,  until  at  last  the 
ornament  gets  to  be  four  inches  wide, 
projecting  six  inches  from  the  side  of 
the  face.  The  baidars  or  canoes  of 
the  Koloschians  are  dug  out  of  a  single  tree,  and  will  carry  from  twelve  to 
fifty  persons.  They  are  usually  propelled  by  paddles,  though  upon  long  voy- 
ages they  are  rigged  with  two  or  more  masts  and  sails  of  matting  or  canvas. 
They,  and  indeed  all  of  the  tribes,  do  not  bury  their  dead,  but  deposit  their 
remains  in  an  oblong  box  raised  upon  posts,  with  the  canoe  and  other  pos- 
sessions of  the  deceased  over  the  box. 

'Next  northward  of  the  Koloschians  come  the  Kenaians,  who  stretch  almost 


LIP  ORNAMENTS. 


THE  POLAH  WORLD. 


A  BAIDAK. 


across  the  continent  to  Hudson's  Bay.  Those  living  upon  the  Yukon  call  them 
Co-yukons,  that  is,  People  of  the  Great  River,  "  Yukon"  in  their  language  sig- 
nifying river.     They  are  much  feared  by  the  surrounding  tribes,  and  have  often 


:«^i  -^ 


FOUR-POST   COFFIN. 


given  no  little  trouble  to  their  Russian  masters.     Many  of  these  wear  a  bone 
ornament  stuck  through  tlie  septum  of  the  nose. 


ALASKA. 


TANANA   INDIAN. 


The  Aleuts,  who  inhabit  the  Aleutian  Islands  are,  to  a  considerable  extent,  of 
mixed  blood,  Russian  and  Koloschian.  They  have  advanced  in  civilization  far 
beyond  any  other  of  the  Esquimaux  race.  Not  a  few  of  them  have  received  a 
fair  education,  and  among  the  priests  of  the  Greek  Church  there  are  not  a  few 
who  go  through  the  service  of  the  church  in  the  Greek  language,  with  a  full 
understanding  of  the  words  of  the  service. 

Quite  nine-tenths  of  the  whole  territory  of  Alaska  is  purely  Arctic,  and  is 
not  only  uninhabited  but  uninhabitable.  The  other  tenth  is  now  sparsely  in- 
habited, and  there  is  little  reason  to  suppose  that  the  population  will  ever  be 
greatly  beyond  its  present  number.  Excej^t  in  special  cases,  the  possible  popu- 
lation of  a  country  is  measured  by  its  agricultural  capacity.  Leaving  out  of 
view  the  extreme  northern  parts  of  Alaska,  the  best  accounts  as  yet  accessible 
show  that  at  St.  Michael's  lettuce,  parsnips,  and  turnips  can  be  raised  by  sowing 
them  in  beds.  At  Fort  Yukon  potatoes  not  much  larger  than  cherries  can  be 
raised.  At  Sitka  potatoes  will  grow  a  little  larger.  On  some  of  the  islands 
the  inhabitants  can  even  venture  upon  barley.  The  forest-trees,  which  flourish 
in  isolated  parts,  will  soon  be  exhausted,  as  far  as  any  profitable  use  of  them  is 
concerned.  Fish  and  furs  constitute  almost  the  sole  value  of  Alaska.  The 
fisheries  are  among  the  most  valuable  in  the  world.  The  furs  will  soon  be  ex- 
hausted, unless  prompt  measures  are  taken  to  prevent  the  capture  of  fur-bearing 
animals  in  the  breeding  season. 

19 


290  THE   POLAK   WORLD. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  ESQUIMAUX. 

Their  wide  Extension.— Climate  of  tlie  Regions  they  inhabit.— Their  physical  Appearance.— Their 
Dres.s.— Snow  Huts.— The  Kayak,  or  tlie  Baidar.— Hunting  Apparatus  and  Weapons.— Enmity  her 
tween  the  Esquimaux  and  the  Red  Indian. — The  "Bloody  Falls.  "—Chase  of  the  Reindeer.— Bird- 
catching.— Whale-hunting. — Various  Stratagems  employed  to  catch  the  Seal. —The  "  Keep-kuttuk." 
— Bear-hunting. —  Walrus-hunting. —  Awaklok  and  Myouk. —  The  Esquimaux  Dog.— Games  and 
Sports. — Angekoks.—  Moral  Character. —  Self-reliance. — Intelligence. — Iligliuk. —  Commercial  Ea- 
gerness of  the  Esquimaux.— Their  Voracity. — Seasons  of  Distress. 

OF  all  the  uncivilized  nations  of  the  globe  none  range  over  a  wider  space 
than  the  Esquimaux,  whose  various  tribes  extend  from  Greenland  and 
Labrador,  over  all  the  coasts  of  Arctic  America,  to  the  Aleutic  chain  and  the  ex- 
treme north-eastern  point  of  Asia.  Many  are  independent,  others  subject  to 
the  Russian,  Danish,  or  British  rule.  In  Baffin's  Bay  and  Lancaster  Sound  they 
accost  the  whale-fisher ;  they  meet  him  in  the  Icy  Sea  beyond  Bering's  Straits ; 
and  while  their  most  southerly  tribes  dwell  as  low  as  the  latitude  of  Vienna, 
others  sojourn  as  high  as  the  80th  degree  of  northern  latitude,  and  probably 
roam  even  still  higher  on  the  still  undiscovered  coasts  beyond — a  nearness  to 
the  pole  no  other  race  is  known  to  reach. 

The  old  Scandinavian  settlers  in  Greenland  expressed  their  dislike  for  them 
in  the  contem2)tuous  name  of  Skraelingers  (screamers  or  wretches) ;  the  seamen 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  ships,  who  trade  annually  with  the  natives  of  Northern  Lab- 
rador and  the  Savage  Islands,  have  long  called  them  "  Seymos "  or  "  Sucke- 
mos,"  names  evidently  derived  from  the  cries  of  "  Seymo,"  or  "  Teymo,"  with 
which  they  greet  the  arrival  of  the  ships ;  they  speak  of  themselves  simply  as 
"  Inuit,"  or  men. 

"With  few  exceptions  the  whole  of  the  vast  region  they  inhabit  lies  beyond 
the  extremest  limits  of  forest  growth,  in  the  most  desolate  and  inhospitable 
countries  of  the  globe.  The  rough  winds  of  the  Polar  Sea  almost  perpetually 
blow  over  their  bleak  domains,  and  thus  only  a  few  plants  of  the  hardest  na- 
ture—lichens and  mosses,  grasses,  saxifragas,  and  willows — are  able  to  subsist 
there,  and  to  aiford  a  scanty  supply  of  food  to  a  few  land  animals  and  birds. 
Ill  indeed  would  it  fare  Avith  the  Esquimaux,  if  they  were  reduced  to  live  upon 
the  niggardly  produce  of  the  soil ;  but  the  sea,  with  its  cetaceans  and  fishes, 
amply  provides  for  their  wants.  Thus  they  are  never  found  at  any  considera- 
ble distance  fi-om  the  ocean,  and  they  line  a  considerable  part  of  the  coasts 
of  the  Arctic  seas  without  ever  visiting  the  interior. 

It  may  easily  be  supposed  that  a  race  whose  eastern  branches  have  for  sev- 
eral centuries  been  under  the  influence  of  the  Danes  and  English,  while  in  the 
extreme  west  it  has  long  been  forced  to  submit  to  Russian  tyranny,  and  whose 
central  and   northern    tribes  rarely  come   into   contact  with  Europeans,  must 


THE   ESQUI]VIAUX.  291 

show  some  variety  in  its  manners  and  mode  of  life,  and  that  the  same  descrip- 
tion is  not  applicable  in  all  points  to  the  disciples  of  the  Moravian  brothers  in 
Labrador  or  Greenland,  to  the  Greek-Catholic  Aleuts,  and  to  the  far  more  nu- 
merous heathen  Esquimaux  of  continental  America,  or  of  the  vast  archipelago 
beyond  its  northern  shores.  Upon  the  whole,  however,  it  is  curious  to  observe 
how  exactly,  amidst  all  diversity  of  time  and  place,  these  people  have  preserved 
unaltered  their  habits  and  manners.  The  broad,  flat  face,  widest  just  below  the 
eyes,  the  forehead  generally  narrow  and  tapering  upward ;  the  eyes  narrow  and 
more  or  less  oblique  ;  all  indicate  a  Mongol  or  Tartar  type,  differing  greatly 
from  the  features  of  the  conterminous  Red  Indian  tribes.  Their  complexion, 
when  relieved  from  smoke  and  dirt,  also  approaches  more  nearly  to  white  than 
that  of  their  copper-colored  neighbors.  Most  of  the  men  are  rather  under  the 
medium  English  size,  but  they  can  not  be  said  to  be  a  dwarfish  race.  Thus 
Simpson  saw  in  Camden  Bay  three  Esquimaux  who  measured  from  five  feet 
ten  inches  to  six  feet ;  and  among  the  natives  of  Smith  Strait,  ICane,  a  rather 
short  man,  met  with  one  a  foot  taller  than  himself.  The  females,  however,  are 
all  comparatively  short.  The  Esquimaux  are  all  remarkably  broad-shouldered, 
and  though  their  muscles  are  not  so  firm  as  those  of  the  European  seamen,  yet 
they  surpass  in  bodily  strength  all  the  other  natives  of  America.  In  both  sexes 
the  hands  and  feet  are  remarkably  small  and  well-formed.  From  exercise  in 
hunting  the  seal  and  walrus,  the  muscles  of  the  arms  and  back  are  much  devel- 
oped in  the  men,  who  are  moreover  powerful  wrestlers.  When  young,  the  Es- 
quimaux looks  cheerful  and  good-humored,  and  the  females  exhibit,  when  laugh- 
ing, a  set  of  very  white  teeth.  Could  they  be  induced  to  wash  their  faces, 
many  of  these  savage  beauties  would  be  found  to  possess  a  complexion  scarcely 
a  shade  darker  than  that  of  a  deep  brunette ;  but  though  disinclined  to  ablu- 
tions, for  which  the  severity  of  their  climate  may  serve  as  an  excuse,  they  are 
far  from  neglecting  the  arts  of  the  toilette. 

Unlike  the  Hare  Indian  and  Dog-Rib  females,  in  whom  the  hard  rule  of  their 
lords  and  masters  has  obliterated  every  trace  of  female  vanity,  the  Esquimaux 
women  tastefully  plait  their  straight,  black,  and  glossy  hair ;  and  hence  we  may 
infer  that  greater  deference  is  paid  to  them  by  the  men.  They  also  generally 
tattoo  their  chin,  forehead,  and  cheeks,  not,  however,  as  in  the  South  Sea  Isl- 
ands, with  elaborate  patterns,  but  with  a  few  simple  lines,  Avhich  have  a  not  un- 
pleasing  effect. 

From  Bering's  Straits  eastward  as  far  as  the  Mackenzie,  the  males  pierce 
the  lower  lip  near  each  angle  of  the  mouth,  and'  fill  the  apertures  with  labrets 
of  blue  or  green  quartz,  or  of  ivory  resembling  buttons.  Many  also  pierce  the 
septum  of  the  nose,  and  insert  a  dentalium  shell  or  ivory  needle.  Like  the  Red 
Indians,  they  are  fond  of  beads,  but  their  most  common  ornament  consists  in 
strings  of  teeth  of  the  fox,  wolf,  or  musk-ox — sometimes  many  hundreds  in 
number — which  are  either  attached  to  the  lower  part  of  the  jacket,  or  fastened 
as  a  belt  round  the  waist. 

Their  dress  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  severity  of  their  climate.  With 
their  two  pair  of  breeches  made  of  reindeer  or  seal  skin,  the  outer  one  having 
the  hair  outside  and  the  inner  one  next  the  body,  and  their  two  jackets — of 


293  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

which  the  upper  one  is  provided  witli  a  great  hood— with  their  water-tight 
seal-skin  boots,  lined  with  the  downy  skins  of  birds,  and  their  enormous  gloves, 
they  bid  defiance  to  the  severest  cold,  and  even  in  the  hardest  weather  pursue 
their  occupations  in  the  open  air  whenever  the  moon  is  in  the  sky,  or  during 
the  doubtful  meridian  twilight.  The  women  are  perfect  in  the  art  of  making 
water-tight  shirts,  or  "  kamleikas,"  of  the  entrails  of  the  seal  or  Avalrus,  which 
in  summer  serve  to  replace  their  heavy  skin  jackets.  They  also  sew  their  boots 
so  tight  that  not  the  slightest  wet  can  penetrate,  and  with  a  neatness  of 
which  the  best  shoemaker  in  Europe  might  be  proud.  The  dress  of  the  two 
sexes  is  much  alike,  the  outer  jacket  having  a  pointed  skirt  before  and  behind, 
but  that  of  the  females  is  a  little  longer.  The  women  also  wear  larger  hoods, 
in  which  they  carry  their  children ;  and  sometimes  (as  in  Labrador)  the  inner 
boot  has  in  front  a  long,  pointed  flap,  to  answer  the  same  purpose. 

The  Esquimaux  are  equally  expert  in  the  construction  of  their  huts.  As 
soon  as  the  lengthening  days  induce  the  tribes  about  Cape  Bathurst  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  to  move  seaward  on  the  ice  to  the  seal-hunt,  a  marvel- 
lous system  of  architecture  comes  into  use,  unknown  among  any  other  Ameri- 
can nations.  The  fine  pure  snow  has  by  that  time  acquired,  under  the  action 
of  the  winds  and  frosts,  sufficient  coherence  to  form  an  admirable  light  build- 
ing material,  which  the  Esquimaux  skillfully  employ  for  the  erection  of  most 
comfortable  dome-shaped  houses.  A  circle  is  first  traced  on  the  smooth  sur- 
face of  the  snow,  and  slabs  for  raising  the  walls  cut  from  within,  so  as  to  clear 
a  space  down  to  the  ice,  which  is  to  form  the  floor  of  the  dwelling,  and  whose 
evenness  was  previously  ascertained  by  probing.  The  slabs  for  the  dome  ai-e 
cut  from  some  neighboring  spot.  The  crevices  between  the  slabs  are  plugged 
up,  and  the  seams  closed,  by  throwing  a  few  shovelfuls  of  loose  snow  over  the 
fabric.  Two  men  generally  work  together,  and  w^hen  the  dome  is  completed 
the  one  within  cuts  a  low  door  and  creeps  out.  The  walls  being  only  three  or 
four  inches  thick,  admit  a  very  agreeable  light,  which  serves  for  ordinary  pur- 
poses ;  if  more  is  required,  a  -window  of  transparent  ice  is  introduced.  The 
proper  thickness  of  the  Avails  is  of  some  importance ;  one.  of  a  few  inches  ex- 
cludes the  Avind,  yet  keeps  down  the  damp  so  as  to  prevent  dripping  from  the 
interior.  The  furniture  of  this  crystal  hut  is  also  formed  of  snow  (the  seats, 
the  table,  the  sleeping-places),  and,  Avhen  covered  Avith  skins,  is  very  comfort- 
able. By  means  of  antechambers  and  porches,  Avith  the  opening  turned  to  lee- 
Avard,  warmth  is  insured,  and  social  intercourse  facilitated  by  contiguous  build- 
ing, doors  of  communication,  ftnd  covered  passages.  By  constant  practice  the 
Esquimaux  can  raise  such  huts  almost  as  quickly  as  we  could  pitch  a  tent. 
When  M'Clintock  for  a  few  nails  hired  four  Esquimaux  to  build  a  hut  for  his 
party,  they  completed  it  in  an  hour,  though  it  Avas  eight  feet  in  diameter  and 
five  and  a  half  feet  high. 

In  spite  of  its  fragile  materials,  this  snow-house  is  durable,  for  the  Avind  has 
little  effect  on  its  dome-like  form,  and  it  resists  the  thaw  until  the  sun  acquires 
a  very  considerable  power.  Of  course  a  strong  fire  could  not  possibly  be  made 
within,  but  such  is  not  needed  by  the  Esquimaux.  The  train-oil  lamp  sufficos 
to  dry  his  Avet  clothes  and  boots  when  he  returns  from  hunting ;  and  the  croAvd- 


THE  ESQUIMAUX.  293 

ing  of  the  inmates  engenders  a  sufficiently  high  temperature  to  keep  him 
Avarm.  Having  also  a  decided  predilection  for  raw  flesh  and  fat,  he  requires 
no  great  expenditure  of  fuel  to  cook  his  dinner.  The  lower  part  of  his  dwell- 
ing being  under  the  surface  of  the  snow,  likewise  promotes  its  warmth. 

But  of  whatever  materials  the  hut  of  the  Esquimaux  may  be  constructed — 
of  snow,  as  I  have  just  described,  or,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  of  stones,  or 
earth,  or  drift-wood — everywhere,  from  Bering's  Straits  to  Smith  Sound,  it  is 
equally  well  adapted  to  the  climate  and  to  circumstances.  Thus  when  Dr. 
Scoresby  landed  in  1822  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Greenland,  he  discovered  some 
deserted  Esquimaux  huts,  which  gave  proof  both  of  the  severity  of  the  cli- 
mate, and  of  the  ingenuity  evinced  in  counteracting  its  rigors.  A  horizontal 
tunnel  about  fifteen  feet  long,  and  so  low  as  to  render  it  necessary  to  creep 
through  on  hands  and  feet,  opens  with  one  end  to  the  south,  and  leads  through 
the  other  into  the  interior  of  the  hut.  This  rises  but  little  above  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  and,  as  it  is  generally  overgrown  with  moss  or  grass,  is  scarcely 
to  be  distinguished  from  the  neighboring  soil.  The  floor  of  the  tunnel  is  fre- 
quently on  a  level  with  that  of  the  hut,  but  often  also  it  is  made  to  slant  down- 
ward and  upward,  so  that  the  colder,  and  consequently  heavier,  air  without  is 
still  more  effectually  kept  off  from  the  Avarmer  air  within ;  and  thus  the  Esqui- 
maux, Avithout  ever  having  studied  physics,  make  a  practical  use  of  one  of  its 
fundamental  laws.  But  their  most  ingenious  invention  is  unquestionably  that 
of  the  one-seated  boat,  the  "  kayak,"  or  the  "  baidar."  A  light,  long,  and  nar- 
row frame  of  wood,  or  seal  or  Avalrus  bone,  is  covered  water-tight  with  seal- 
skin, leaving  but  one  circular  hole  in  the  middle.  In  this  the  Esquimaux  sits 
with  outstretched  legs,  and  binds  a  sack  (Avhich  is  formed  of  the  intestines  of 
the  whale,  or  of  the  skins  of  young  seals,  and  fits  in  the  opening)  so  tightly 
round  his  middle,  that  even  in  a  heavy  sea  not  a  drop  of  water  can  penetrate 
into  the  boat.  Striking  with  his  light  oar  (which  is  paddled  at  each  extrem- 
ity) alternately  to  the  right  and  to  the  left,  his.  spear  or  harpoon  before  him, 
and  maintaining  his  equilibrium  with  all  the  dexterity  of  a  rope-dancer,  he  flies 
like  an  arrow  over  the  water ;  and  should  a  wave  upset  him,  he  knows  how  to 
right  himself  by  the  action  of  the  paddle.  The  "  oomiak,"  or  Avomen's  boat, 
likcAvise  consists  of  a  frame- Avork  covered  Avith  seal-skins,  and  is  roomy  enough 
to  hold  ten  or  twelve  people,  Avith  benches  for  the  Avomen  Avho  roAV  or  paddle. 
The  mast  supports  a  triangular  sail  made  of  the  entrails  of  seals,  and  easily 
distended  by  the  Avind.  The  men  would  consider  it  beneath  their  dignity  to 
roAV  in  one  of  these  omnibus  boats  ;  they  leave  this  labor  entirely  to  the  AVomen, 
Avho,  to  the  tact  of  a  monotonous  song,  sloAvly  propelthe  oomiak  through  the 
water.  Judging  of  foreign  customs  by  their  OAvn,  the  Esquimaux  betAveen  the 
Mackenzie  and  Coppermine  rivers  made  the  strange  mistake,  as  Sir  John  Rich- 
ardson relates,  of  supposing  that  the  English  sailors  whom  they  saw  roAving  in 
company  Avere  AVomen.  One  of  them  even  asked  Avhether  all  Avhite  females  had 
beards. 

*^^*^The  weapons  of  the  Esquimaux,  and  their  various  fishing  and  hunting  im- 
plements, likewise  show  great  ingenuity  and  skill.  Their  oars  are  tastefully 
inlaid  Avith  Avalrus-teeth  ;  they  have  several  kinds  of  spears  or  darts,  adapted  to 


394  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

the  size  of  the  various  animals  which  they  hunt;  and  their  elastic  bows, 
•strongly  bound  with  strings  of  seal-gut,  drive  a  six-foot  arrow  with  unerring 
certainty  to  a  distant  mark.  To  bring  down  a  larger  animal,  the  shaft  is 
armed  with  a  sharp  flint  or  a  pointed  bone ;  if  intended  to  strike  a  bird,  it  is 
smaller,  and  blunted. 

The  hai-poons  and  lances  used  in  killing  whales  or  seals  have  long  shafts  of 
wood  or  of  the  narwhal's  tooth,  and  the  barbed  point  is  so  constructed  that, 
Avhen  the  blow  takes  effect,  it  is  left  sticking  in  the  body  of  the  animal,  while 
the  shaft  attached  to  it  by  a  string  is  disengaged  from  the  socket,  and  becomes 
a  buoy  of  wood.  Seal-skins,  blown  up  like  bladders,  are  likewise  used  as  buoys 
for  the  whale-spears,  being  adroitly  stripped  from  the  animal  so  that  all  the  nat- 
ural apertures  are  easily  made  air-tight. 

With  equal  industry  and  skill  the  Esquimaux  put  to  use  almost  every  part 
of  the  laud  and  marine  animals  which  they  chase.  Knives,  spear-points,  and 
lish-hooks  are  made  of  the  horns  and  bones  of  the  deer.  The  ribs  of  the  whale 
are  used  in  roofing  huts  or  in  the  construction  of  sledges,  where  drift-timber,  is 
scarce.  Strong  cord  is  made  from  strips  of  seal-skin  hide,  and  the  sinews  of 
musk-oxen  and  deer  furnish  bow-strings,  or  cord  to  make  nets  or  snares.  In 
default  of  drift-wood,  the  bones  of  the  whale  are  employed  for  the  construction 
of  their  sledges,  in  pieces  fitted  to  each  other  with  neatness,  and  firmly  sewed 
together. 

During  the  long  confinement  to  their  huts  or  "  igloos  "  in  the  dark  winter 
months,  the  men  execute  some  very  fair  figures  in  bone,  and  in  walrus  or  fossd 
ivory,  besides  making  fish-hooks,  knife-handles,  and  other  instruments  neatly  of 
these  materials,  or  of  metal  or  wood. 

Thus  in  all  these  respects  the  Esquimaux  are  as  superior  to  the  Red  Indians 
as  they  are  in  strength  and  personal  courage;  and  yet  no  Norwegian  can  more 
utterly  despise  the  filthy  Lapp,  and  no  orthodox  3Iussulman  look  down  with 
greater  contempt  upon  a  "  giaour,"  than  the  Loucheux  or  Cheppewayan  upon 
the  Esquimaux,  who  in  his  eyes  is  no  better  than  a  brute,,  and  whom  he  ap- 
proaches only  to  kill. 

In  his  "Voyage  to  the  Coppermine  River"  Ilearne  relates  a  dreadful  instance 
of  this  bloodthirsty  hatred.  The  Indians  who  accompanied  him  having  heard 
that  some  Esquimaux  had  erected  their  summer  huts  near  the  mouth  of  that 
river,  were  at  once  seized  with  a  tiger-like  fury.  Hearne,  the  only  European  of 
the  party,  had  not  the  power  to  restrain  them,  and  he  might  as  well  have  at- 
tempted to  touch  the  heart  of  an  ice-bear  as  to  move  the  murderous  band  to 
pity.  As  craftily  and  noiselessly  as  serpents  they  drew  nigh,  and,  when  the 
midnight  sun  verged  on  the  horizon,  with  a  dreadful  yell  they  burst  on  the  huts 
of  their  unsuspecting  victims.  Not  one  of  them  escaped,  and  the  monsters  de- 
lighted to  prolong  the  misery  of  their  death-struggle  by  repeated  wounds.  An 
old  woman  had  both  her  eyes  torn  out  before  she  received  the  mortal  blow.  A 
young  girl  fled  to  Ilearne  for  protection,  who  used  every  effort  to  save  her, 
but  in  vain.  In  1821  some  human  skulls  lying  on  the  spot  still  bore  testimony 
to  this  cruel  slaughter,  and  the  name  of  the  "  Bloody  Falls,"  given  by  Hearne  to 
the  scene  of  the  massacre,  will  convey  its  memory  to  distant  ages.     No  wonder 


THE  ESQUIMAUX.  295 

that  the  hate  of  the  Esquimaux  is  no  less  intense,  and  that  they  also  pursue  the 
Indians,  wherever  they  can,  with  their  spears  and  arrows,  like  wild  beasts. 

"  Year  after  year,"  says  Sir  John  Richardson,  "  sees  the  Esquimaux  on  the 
Polar  coast  of  America  occupied  in  a  uniform  circle  of  pursuits.  When  the 
rivers  open  in  spring,  they  proceed  to  the  rapids  and  falls  to  spear  the  salmon, 
which  at  that  season  come  swimming  stream  upward.  At  the  same  time,  or 
earlier  in  more  southern  localities,  they  hunt  the  reindeer,  which  drop  their 
young  on  the  coasts  and  islands  while  the  snow  is  only  partially  melted.  Where 
the  open  country  affords  the  huntsman  no  opportunity  of  approaching  his  game 
unperceived,  deep  pits  are  dug  in  the  snowy  ravines,  and  superficially  covered 
with  snow-tablets.  The  wind  soon  effaces  the  traces  of  the  human  hand,  and 
thus  many  reindeer  are  snared." 

In  summer  the  reindeer  are  killed  partly  by  driving  them  from  islands  or 
narrow  necks  of  land  into  the  sea,  and  then  spearing  them  from  their  kayaks, 
and  partly  by  shooting  them  from  behind  heaps  of  stones  raised  for  the  purpose 
of  watching  them,  and  imitating  their  pecuUar  bellow  or  grunt.  Among  the 
various  artifices  which  they  employ  for  this  purpose,  one  of  the  most  ingenious 
consists  in  two  men  walking  directly /wm  the  deer  they  wish  to  kill,  when  the 
animal  almost  always  follows  them.  As  soon  as  they  arrive  at  a  large  stone, 
one  of  the  men  hides  behind  it  with  his  boAV,  while  the  other,  continuing  to 
walk  on,  soon  leads  the  deer  within  range  of  his  companion's  arrows. 

The  multitudes  of  sv/ans,  ducks,  and  geese  resorting  to  the  morasses  of  the 
northern  coasts  to  breed,  likewise  aid  in  supplying  the  Esquimaux  with  food 
during  their  short  but  busy  summer  of  two  months.  For  their  destruction  a 
very  ingenious  instrument  has  been  invented.  Six  or  eight  small  balls  made  of 
walrus-tooth  and  pierced  in  the  middle  are  separately  attached  to  as  many 
thongs  of  animal  sinew,  which  are  tied  together  at  the  opposite  end.  When 
cast  into  the  air  the  diverging  balls  describe  circles — like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel 
— and  woe  to  the  unfortunate  bird  that  comes  within  their  reach. 

On  the  coasts  frequented  by  whales,  the  month  of  August  is  devoted  to  the 
pursuit  of  these  animals ;  a  successful  chase  insuring  a  comfortable  winter  to 
a  whole  community.  Their  capture  requires  an  association  of  labor;  hence 
along  the  coasts  of  the  Polar  Sea  the  Esquimaux  unite  their  huts  into  villages, 
for  whose  site  a  bold  point  of  coast  is  generally  chosen,  where  the  water  is 
deep  enough  to  float  a  whale. 

When  one  of  these  huge  creatures  is  seen  lying  on  the  water,  a  dozen  kay- 
aks or  more  cautiously  paddle  up  astern-  of  him,  till  a  single  canoe,  preceding 
the  rest,  comes  close  to  him  on  one  quarter,  so  as  to  enable  the  men  to  drive 
the  spear  into  the  animal  with  all  the  force  of  both  arms.  This  spear  has  a 
long  line  of  thong  and  an  inflated  seal-skin  attached  to  it.  The  stricken  whale 
immediately  dives  ;  but  when  he  re-appears  after  some  time,  all  the  canoes  again 
paddle  towards  him,  some  warning  being  given  by  the  seal-skin  buoy  floating 
on  the  surface.  Each  man  being  furnished  like  the  first,  they  repeat  the  blow 
as  often  as  they  find  an  opportunity,  till  perhaps  every  line  has  been  thus  era- 
ployed.  After  chasing  him  in  this  manner  sometimes  for  half  a  day,  he  is  at 
length  so  wearied  by  the  resistance  of  the  buoys   and  exhausted  by  loss  of 


296  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

blood  as  to  be  obliged  to  rise  more  and  more  ofteu  to  the  surface,  and  is  finally 
killed  and  towed  ashore. 

Though  in  many  parts  seals  are  caught  at  every  season  of  the  year,  yet  the 
great  hunt  takes  place  in  spring,  when  they  play  in  the  open  lanes  near  the 
coasts,  or  come  out  on  the  ice  to  bask  in  the  sun.  In  spite  of  their  wariness, 
they  are  no  match  for  the  Esquimaux,  who  have  carefully  studied  all  their 
habits  from  infancy.  Sometimes  the  hunter  approaches  them  by  imitating 
their  forms  and  motions  so  perfectly  that  the  poor  animals  are  not  undeceived 
until  one  of  them  is  struck  with  his  lance;  or  else,  by  means  of  a  white  screen 
pushed  forward  on  a  sledge,  the  hunter  comes  Avithin  range  and  picks  out  the 
best-conditioned  of  the  band.  As  the  season  draws  near  midsummer,  the  seals 
are  more  approachable ;  their  eyes  being  so  congested  by  the  glare  of  the  sun 
that  they  are  sometimes  nearly  bliud.  In  winter  they  are  assaulted  while 
w^orking  at  their  breathing-holes  or  when  coming  up  for  respiration. 

If  an  Esquimaux  has  any  reason  to  suppose  that  a  seal  is  busy  gnawing  be- 
neath the  ice,  he  immediately  attaches  himself  to  the  place,  and  seldom  leaves 
it,  even  in  the  severest  frost,  till  he  has  succeeded  in  killing  the  animal.  For 
this  purpose  he  first  builds  a  snow^-wall  about  four  feet  in  height,  to  shelter  him 
from  the  wind,  and  seating  himself  under  the  lee  of  it,  deposits  his  spears,  lines, 
and  other  implements  upon  several  little  forked  sticks  inserted  into  the  snow, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  smallest  noise  being  made  in  moving  them  when  want- 
ed. But  the  most  curious  precaution  consists  in  tying  his  OAvn  knees  together 
with  a  thong  so  securely  as  to  prevent  any  rustling  of  his  clothes,  which  might 
otherwise  alarm  the  animal.  In  this  situation  a  man  will  sit  quietly  sometimes 
for  hours  together,  attentively  listening  to  any  noise  made  by  the  seal,  and 
sometimes  using  the  "  keep-kuttuk  "  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  the  animal 
is  still  at  work  below.  This  simple  little  instrument — which  affords  another 
striking  proof  of  Esquimaux  ingenuity — is  merely  a  slender  rod  of  bone  (as 
delicate  as  a  fine  wire,  that  the  seal  may  not  see  it),  nicely  rounded,  and  having 
a  point  at  one  end  and  a  knob  at  the  other.  It  is  inserted  into  the  ice,  and 
the  knob  remaining  above  the  sui-face,  informs  the  fisherman  by  its  motion 
whether  the  seal  is  employed  in  making  his  hole;  if  not,  it  remains  undis- 
turbed, and  the  attempt  is  given  up  in  that  place.  When  the  hunter  supposes 
the  hole  to  be  nearly  completed,  he  cautiously  lifts  his  spear  (to  which  the  line 
has  been  previously  attached),  and  as  soon  as  the  blowing  of  the  seal  is  distinctly 
heard— and  the  ice  consequently  very  thin — he  drives  it  into  him  with  the  force  of 
both  arms,  and  then  cuts  away  with  his  "  panna,"  or  well-sharpened  knife,  the 
remaining  crust  of  ice,  to  enable  him  to  repeat  the  wounds  and  get  him  out. 
The  "  neituk  "  {Phoca  hisjnda),  being  the  smallest  seal,  is  held,  Avhile  struggling, 
either  simply  by  hand,  or  by  putting  the  line  i-ound  a  spear  with  the  point  stucTi 
into  the  ice.  For  the  "  oguke"  {Phoca  bcu-hata),  the  line  is  passed  round  the 
man's  leg  or  arm  ;  and  for  a  walrus,  round  his  body,  his  feet  being  at  the  same 
time  firmly  set  against  a  hummock  of  ice,  in  which  position  these  people  can, 
from  habit,  hold  against  a  very  heavy  strain.  A  boy  of  fifteen  is  equal  to  the 
killing  of  a  "  neituk,"  but  it  requires  a  full-grown  person  to  master  either  of  the 
larger  animals.     This  sport  is  not  without  the  danger  which  adds  to  the  ex- 


THE  ESQUIMAUX.  297 

citemeut  of  success,  particularly  if  the  creature  struck  by  the  hunter  be  a  large 
seal  or  walrus  ;  for  woe  betide  him  if  he  does  not  instantly  plant  his  feet  firmly 
in  the  ice,  and  throw  himself  in  such  a  position  that  the  strain  on  the  line  is  as 
nearly  as  possible  brought  into  the  direction  of  the  length  of  the  spine  of  his 
back  and  axis  of  his  lower  limbs.  A  transverse  pull  from  one  of  these  power- 
ful animals  would  double  him  up  across  the  air-hole,  and  perhaps  break  his  back  ; 
or  if  the  opening  be  large,  as'  it  often  is  when  the  spring  is  advanced,  he 
would  be  dragged  under  water  and  drowned. 

As  the  Polar  bear  is  as  great  a  seal-hunter  as  the  Esquimaux,  one  of  the 
usual  methods  employed  by  the  latter  to  catch  these  bears  is  to  imitate  the  mo- 
tions of  the  seal  by  lying  flat  on  the  ice  until  the  bear  approaches  sufficiently 
near  to  insure  a  good  aim  ;  but  a  gun  is  necessary  to  practise  this  stratagem 
with  success.  Seeman  ("  Voyage  of  the  Hei-ald  ")  mentions  another  ingenious 
mode  of  capturing  the  bear  by  taking  advantage  of  the  well-known  voracity  of 
the  animal,  which  generally  swallows  its  food  without  much  mastication,  A 
thick  and  strong  piece  of  whalebone,  about  four  inches  broad  and  two  feet  long, 
is  rolled  up  into  a  small  compass,  and  carefully  enveloped  in  blubber,  forming 
a  round  ball.  It  is  then  placed  in  the  open  air  at  a  low  temperature,  where  it 
soon  becomes  hard  and  frozen.  The  natives,  armed  with  their  knives,  bows,  and 
arrows,  together  with  this  frozen  bait,  proceed  in  quest  of  the  bear.  As  soon 
as  the  animal  is  seen,  one  of  the  natives  discharges  an  arrow  at  it ;  the  monster, 
smarting  from  this  assault,  chases  the  party,  then  in  full  retreat,  until,  meeting 
with  the  frozen  blubber  dropped  in  his  path,  he  greedily  swallows  it,  and  con- 
tinues the  pursuit — doubtless  fancying  that  there  must  be  more  where  that 
came  from.  The  natural  heat  of  the  body  soon  causes  the  blubber  to  thaw, 
when  the  whalebone,  thus  freed,  springs  back,  and  frightfully  lacerates  the 
stomach.  The  writhing  brute  falls  down  in  helpless  agony,  and  the  Esquimaux, 
hurrying  to  the  spot,  soon  put  an  end  to  his  sufferings. 

The  Esquimaux  of  Smith  Sound  hunt  the  bear  with  the  assistance  of  their 
dogs,  which  are  carefully  trained  not  to  engage  in  contest  with  the  bear,  but  to 
retard  his  flight.  While  one  engrosses  his  attention  ahead,  a  second  attacks 
him  in  the  rear,  always  alert,  and  each  protecting  the  other ;  and  thus  it  rarely 
liappens  that  they  are  seriously  injured,  or  that  they  fail  to  delay  the  animal  un- 
til their  masters  come  up.  If  there  be  two  hunters,  the  bear  is  killed  easily ; 
for  one  makes  a  feint  of  thrusting  a  spear  at  the  right  side,  and  as  the  animal 
turns  with  his  arms  towards  the  threatened  attack,  the  left  is  unprotected,  and 
receives  the  death-wound.  But  if  the  hunter  is  alone,  he  grasps  the-  lance  firm- 
ly in  his  hands,  and  provokes  the  animal  to  pursue  him  by  moving  rapidly 
across  its  path,  and  then  running  as  if  to  escape.  But  hardly  is  its  long,  un- 
wieldy body  extended  for  the  chase,  than,  with  a  rapid  jump,  the  hunter  doubles 
on  his  track,  and  runs  back  towards  his  first  position.  The  bear  is  in  the  act 
of  turning  after  him  again,  when  the  lance  is  plunged  into  the  left  side  below 
the  shoulder.  So  dexterously  has  this  thrust  to  be  made,  that  an  unpractised 
hunter  has  often  to  leave  his  sjiear  in  the  side  of  his  prey  and  run  for  his  life ; 
but  even  then,  if  well-aided  by  the  dogs,  a  cool,  skillful  man  seldom  fails  to  kill 
his  adversary. 


298  THE   POLAR    WORLD. 

While  the  seal,  narwhal,  and  white  Avhale  funiish  the  staple  food  of  the 
more  southern  Greenlander,  the  walrus  is  the  chief  resource  of  the  Smith 


Sound  Esquimaux.  The  manner  of  hunting  this  animal  depends  much  on  the 
season  of  the  year.  In  sprins:,  or  the  breeding-season,  when  the  walrus  is  in 
his  glory,  he  is  taken  in  two  ways.  Sometimes  he.  has  risen  by  the  side  of  an 
iceberg,  where  the  currents  have  worn  away  the  floe,  or  through  a  tide  crack, 
and,  enjoying  the  sunshine  too  long,  finds  his  retreat  cut  off  by  the  freezing  up 
of  the  opening ;  for  like  the  seal,  the  Avalrus  can  only  work  from  below  at  his 
breathing-hole.  When  thus  caught,  the  Esquimaux,  who  with  keen  hunter- 
craft  are  scouring  the  floes,  scent  him  out  by  their  dogs  and  spear  him.  Fre- 
quently the  female  and  her  calf,  accompanied  by  the  grim-visaged  father,  are 
seen  surging,  in  loving  trios,  from  crack  to  crack,  and  sporting  in  the  openings. 
While  thus  on  their  tour,  they  invite  their  vigilant  enemies  to  the  second  meth- 
'od  of  capture.  This  also  is  by  the  lance  and  harpoon  ;  but  it  often  becomes  a 
regular  battle,  the  male  gallantly  fronting  the  assault,  and  charging  the  hunters 
with  furious  bravery.  In  the  fall,  when  the  pack  is  but  partially  closed,  the 
walrus  are  found  in  numbers,  hanging  around  the  neutral  region  of  mixed  ice 
and  water,  and,  as  this  becomes  solid  with  the  advance  of  winter,  following  it 
more  and  more  to  the  south. 

The  Esquimaux  at  this  season  approach  them  over  the  young  ice,  and  as- 
sail them  in  cracks  and  holes  with  harpoon  and  line.  This  fishery,  as  the  sea- 
son grows  colder,  darker,  and  more  tempestuous,  is  fearfully  hazardous.  Kane 
relates  how,  during  a  time  of  famine,  two  of  his  Esquimaux  friends,  Awaklok 
and  Myouk,  determined  to  seek  the  walrus  on  the  open  ice.  They  succeeded  in 
killing  a  large  male,  and  Avere  returning  to  their  village,  when  a  north  wind 
broke  up  the  ice,  and  they  found  themselves  afloat.  The  impulse  of  a  Euro- 
pean Avould  have  been  to  seek  the  land ;  but  they  knew  that  the  drift  Avas  al- 
Avays  most  dangerous  on  the  coast,  and  urged  their  dogs  tOAvards  the  nearest 
iceberg.  They  reached  it  after  a  struggle,  and,  by  great  efforts,  made  good 
their  landing,  with  their  dogs  and  the  half-butchered  carcass  of  the  walrus.  It 
Avas  at  the  close  of  the  last  moonlight  of  December,  and  a  complete  darkness 
settled  around  them.  They  tied  the  dogs  down  to  knobs  of  ice,  to  prevent 
their  losing  their  foothold,  and  prostrated  themselves,  to  escape  being  blown 
off  by  the  violence  of  the  Avind.  At  first  the  sea  broke  over  them,  but  they 
gained  a  higher  level,  and  built  a  sort  of  screen  of  ice.  On  the  fifth  night  af- 
terwards, so  far  as  they  could  judge,  one  of  Myouk's  feet  Avas  frozen,  and 
AM-akiok  lost  his  great  toe  by  frost  bite.  But  they  did  not  lose  courage,  and 
ate  their  Avalrus-meat  as  they  floated  sloAvly  to  the  south.  It  was  tOAvards  the 
close  of  the  second  moonlight,  after  a  month's  imprisonment,  such  as  only 
these  iron  men  could  endure,  that  they  found  the  berg  had  grounded.  They 
liberated  their  dogs  as  soon  as  the  young  ice  could  bear  their  weight,  and  at- 
taching long  lines  to  them,  which  they  cut  from  the  hide  of  the  dead  Avalrus, 
they  succeeded  in  hauling  them'selves  through  the  Avater-space  Avhich  always 
surrounds  an  iceberg,  and  reaching  safe  ice.  They  returned  to  their  village 
like  men  raised  from  the  dead,  to  meet  a  Avelcome,  but  to  meet  famine  along 
with  it. 


THE  ESQUIMAUX.  299 

In  the  form  of  their  bodies,  their  short  pricked  ears,  thick  furry  coat,'and 
bushy  tail,  the  dogs  of  the  Esquimaux  so  nearly  resemble  the  wolf  of  these 
regions,  that  when  of  a  light  or  brindled  color,  they  may  easily  at  a  little  dis- 
tance be  mistaken  for  that  animal ;  but  an  eye  accustomed  to  both,  perceives 
that  the  wolf  always  keeps  his  head  down  and  his  tail  between  his  legs  in  run- 
ning, whereas  the  dogs  almost  always  carry  their  tails  handsomely  curled  over 
the  back.  Their  hair  in  the  winter  is  from  three  to  four  inches  long  ;  but  be- 
sides this  nature  furnishes  them  during  this  rigorous  season  with  a  thick  un- 
der-coating of  close,  soft  wool,  which  enables  them  to  brave  the  most  inclement 
weather.  They  do  not  bark,  but  have  a  long  melancholy  howl,  like  that  of  the 
wolf.  When  drawing  a  sledge,  they  have  a  simple  harness  of  deer  or  seal  skin 
going  round  the  neck  by  one  bight,  and  another  for  each  of  the  fore  legs,  with 
a  single  thong  leading  over  the  back,  and  attached  to  the  sledge  as  a  trace. 
Though  they  appear  at  first  sight  to  be  huddled  together  without  regard  to 
regularity,  considerable  attention  is  really  paid  to  their  arrangement,  particular- 
ly in  the  selection  of  a  dog  of  peculiar  spirit  and  sagacity,  who  is  allowed  by  a 
longer  trace  to  precede  the  rest  as  leader,  and  to  whom,  in  turning  to  the, right 
or  left,  the  driver  usually  addresses  himself,  using  certain  words  as  the  carters 
do  with  us.  To  these  a  good  leader  attends  with  admirable  precision  (espec- 
ially if  his  own  name  be  repeated  at  the  same  time),  looking  behind  over  his 
shoulder  with  great  earnestness,  as  if  listening  to  the  directions  of  the  driver, 
who  sits  quite  low  on  the  fore  part  of  the  sledge,  his  whip  in  hand,  and  his  feet 
overhanging  the  snow  on  one  side. 

On  rough  ground,  as  among  hummocks  of  ice,  the  sledge  Avould  be  frequent- 
ly overturned  if  the  driver  did  not  repeatedly  get  off,  and,  by  lifting  or  draw- 
ing it  to  one  side,  steer  it  clear  of  those  obstacles.  At  all  times,  indeed,  except 
on  a  smooth  and  well-made  road,  he  is  pretty  constantly  employed  thus  with 
his  feet,  and  this,  together  with  his  never-ceasing  vociferations  and  frequent 
use  of  the  whip,  renders  the  driving  of  one  of  these  vehicles  by  no  means  a 
pleasant  or  easy  task. 

"  The  whijD, '  says  Kane,  who  from  assiduous  practice  at  length  attained  a  con- 
siderable proficiency  in  its  use,  "  is  six  yards  long,  and  the  handle  but  sixteen 
inches — a  short  lever  to  throw  out  such  a  length  of  seal-hide.  Learn  to  do  it, 
however,  with  a  masterly  sweep,  or  else  make  up  your  mind  to  forego  driving 
sledges ;  for  the  dogs  are  guided  solely  by  the  lash,  and  you  must  be  able  to 
hit  not  only  any  particular  dog  of  a  team  of  twelve,  but  to  accompany  the 
feat  also  with  a  resounding  crack.  After  this  you  find  that,  to  get  your  lash 
back,  involves  another  difficulty  ;  for  it  is  apt  to  entangle  itself  among  the  dogs 
and  lines,  or  to  fasten  itself  cunningly  round  bits  of  ice,  so  as  to  drag  you  head 
over  heels  into  the  snow.  The  secret  by  which  this  complicated  set  of  require- 
ments is  fulfilled  consists  in  properly  describing  an  arc  from  the  shoulder  with 
a  stiff  elbow,  giving  the  jerk  to  the  whip-handle  from  the  hand  and  wrist  alone. 
The  lash  trails  behind  as  you  travel,  and  when  thrown  forward  is  allowed  to 
extend  itself  without  an  effort  to  bring  it  back.  You  wait  patiently,  after  giv- 
ing the  projectile  impulse,  uhtil  it  unwinds  its  slow  length,  reaches  the  end  of  its 
tether,  and  cracks  to  tell  you  that  it  is  at  its  journey's  end.     Such  a  crack  on 


300  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

the  6ar  or  fore  foot  of  an  unfortunate  dog  is  signalized  by  a  liowl  quite  unmis- 
takable in  its  import." 

The  mere  labor  of  using  this  Avhip  is  such  that  the  Esquimaux  travel  in 
couples,  one  sledge  after  the  other.  The  hinder  dogs  follow  mechanically,  and 
thus  require  no  whip ;  and  the  drivers  change  about  so  as  to  rest  each  other. 

In  the  summer,  when  the  absence  of  snow  prevents  the  use  of  sledges,  the 
dogs  are  still  made  useful,  on  journeys  and  hunting  excursions,  by  being  em- 
l)loyed  to  carry  burdens  in  a  kind  of  saddle-bags  laid  across  their  shoulders. 
A  stout  dog  thus  accoutred  will  accompany  his  master  laden  with  a  weight 
of  about  twenty  or  twenty-five  jjounds. 

The  scent  of  the  Esquimaux  dog  is  excellent,  and  this  property  is  turned  to 
account  in  finding  the  seal-holes,  which  they  will  discover  entirely  by  the  smell 
at  a  very  great  distance.  The  track  of  a  single  deer  upon  the  snow  will  in 
like  manner  set  them  ofE  at  full  gallop  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  mile  before  they 
arrive  at  it,  and  with  the  same  alacrity  they  pursue  the  bear  or  the  musk-ox. 
Indeed,  the  only  animal  which  they  are  not  eager  to  chase  is  the  Avolf,  of  which 
they  seem  to  have  an  instinctive  dread,  giving  notice  at  night  of  their  ap- 
proach to  the  huts  by  a  loud  and  continued  howl. 

In  spite  of  their  invaluable  services,  they  are  treated  with  great  severity  by 
their  masters,  who  never  caress  them,  and,  indeed,  scarcely  ever  take  any  no- 
tice of  them  except  to  punish  them.  But  notwithstanding  this  rough  treatment, 
the  attachment  of  the  dogs  to  their  masters  is  very  great,  and  this  they  dis- 
play, after  a  short  absence,  by  jumping  up  and  licking  their  faces  all  over  with 
extreme  delight. 

It  may  be  supposed  that  among  so  cheerful  a  people  as  the  Esquimaux  there 
are  many  games  or  sports  practised.  One  of  their  exhibitions  consists  in  mak- 
ing hideous  faces  by  drawing  both  lips  into  the  mouth,  poking  forward  the  chin, 
squinting  frightfully,  occasionally  shutting  one  eye,  and  moving  the  head  from 
side  to  side  as  if  the  neck  had  been  dislocated. 

Another  performance  consists  in  repeating  certain  Avords  with  a  guttural 
tone  resembling  ventriloquism,  staring  at  the  same  time  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  make  their  eyes  appear  ready  to  burst  out  of  their  sockets  with  the  exertion. 
Two  or  more  will  sometimes  stand  up  face  to  face,  and,  with  great  quickness 
and  regularity,  respond  to  each  other,  keeping  such  exact  time  that  the  sound 
appears  to  come  from  one  throat  instead  of  several.  They  are  fond  of  music, 
both  vocal  and  instrumental,  but  their  singing  is  not  much  better  than  a  howl. 

The  Esquimaux  have  neither  magistrates  nor  laws,  yet  they  are  orderly  in 
their  conduct  towards  each  other.  The  constitution  of  their  society  is  patri- 
archal, but  there  is  no  recognition  of  mastership  except  such  as  may  be  claimed 
by  superior  prowess.  The  rule  of  the  head  of  a  family  lasts  only  as  long  as  he 
has  vigor  enough  to  secure  success  in  hunting.  When  his  powers  of  mind 
and  body  are  impaired  by  age,  he  at  once  sinks  in  the  social  scale,  associates 
with  the  women,  and  takes  his  seat  in  the  oomiak.  They  rarely  quarrel  among 
themselves,  and  settle  their  disputes  either  by  boxing,  the  parties  sitting  down 
and  striking  blows  alternately  until  one  of  them  gives  in,  or  before  a  court  of 
honor,  where,  after  the  accuser  and  the  accused  have  richly  abused  and  ridi- 


THE  ESQUIMAUX.  301 

culed  each  other,  the  case  is  decided  by  the  priests  or  "  angokoks."  These 
wonder-workers,  who  enjoy  a  great  reputation  as  sorcerers,  soothsayers,  or  med- 
icine-men, employ  ventriloquism,  swallow  knives,  extract  stones  from  various 
parts  of  their  bodies,  and  use  other  deceptions  to  impress  their  dupes  with  a 
high  opinion  of  their  supernatural  powers.  Like  the  members  of  the  learned 
professions  elsewhere,  they  have  a  certain  language  or  jargon  of  their  own,  in 
which  they  communicate  with  each  other.  The  heathen  Esquimaux  do  not 
appear  to  have  any  idea  of  tbe  existence  of  one  Supreme  Being,  but  believe  in 
a  number  of  spirits,  with  whom  on  certain  occasions  the  angekoks  pretend  to 
hold  mysterious  intercourse.  Even  in  Old  Greenland  the  influence  and  teach- 
ings of  the  missionaries  have  not  entirely  obliterated  the  old  superstitions,  and 
the  mysteries  of  the  angekok,  though  not  openly  recognized  near  the  Danish 
settlements,  still  hold  their  secret  power  over  many  a  native  who  is  professedly 
a  Christian, 

Captfiin  Kail  highly  praises  the  good-nature  of  the  Esquimaux  ;  but  in  their 
behavior  to  the  old  and  infirm  they  betray  the  insensibility,  or  rather  inhu- 
manity, commonly  found  among  savage  nations,  frequently  abandoning  them 
to  their  fate  on  their  journeys,  and  allowing  them  to  perish  in  the  wilderness. 

Among  themselves  "  Tiglikpok  "  (he  is  a  thief)  is  a  terra  of  reproach,  but 
they  steal  without  scruple  from  strangers,  and  are  not  ashamed  when  detected, 
nor  do  they  blush  when  reproved.  Parry  taxes  them  with  want  of  gratitude ; 
and  though  they  have  no  doubt  rendered  good  services  to  many  of  our 
Arctic  navigators,  yet  sometimes,  when  they  fancied  themselves  the  stronger 
party,  they  have  not  hesitated  to  attack  or  to  murder  the  strangers,  and  their 
good  behavior  can  only  be  relied  upon  as  long  as  there  is  the  power  of  enforc- 
ing it. 

One  of  the  most  amiable  traits  of  their  character  is  the  kindness  with  which 
they  treat  their  children,  whose  gentleness  and  docility  are  such  as  to  occasion 
their  parents  little  trouble,  and  to  render  severity  towards  them  quite  unneces- 
sary. Even  from  their  earliest  infancy  they  possess  that  quiet  disposition,  gen- 
tleness of  demeanor,  and  uncommon  evenness  of  temper  for  which,  in  mature 
age,  they  are  for  the  most  part  distinguished.  "  They  are  just  as  fond  of  play," 
says  Parry,  "  as  any  other  young  people,  and  of  the  same  kind,  only  that  while 
an  English  child  draws  a  cart  of  wood,  an  Esquimaux  of  the  same  age  has  a 
sledge  of  whalebone ;  and  for  the  superb  baby-house  of  the  former,  the  latter 
builds  a  miniature  hut  of  snow,  and  begs  a  lighted  Avick  from  her  mother's 
lamp  to  illuminate  the  little  dwelling." 

When  not  more  than  eight  years  old,  the  boys  are  taken  by  their  fatliers 
on  their  sealing  excursions,  where  they  begin  to  learn  their  future  business ; 
and  even  at  that  earlj^  age  they  are  occasionally  intrusted  to  bring  home  a 
sledge  and  dogs  from  a  distance  of  several  miles  over  the  ice.  At  the  age  of 
eleven  we  see  a  boy  with  his  water-tight  boots,  a  spear  in  his  hand,  and  a  small 
coil  of  line  at  his  back,  accompanying  the  men  to  the  fishery  under  every  cir- 
cumstance ;  and  from  this  time  his  services  daily  increase  in  value  to  the  whole 
tribe. 

In  intelligence  and  susceptibility  of  civilization  the  Esquimaux  arc  far  su- 


302  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

perior  to  tlie  neigliboving  Indians.  They  have  such  a  good  idea  of  the  hydrog- 
raphy and  bearings  of  the  sea-coasts  which  they  frequent  as  to  draw  accurate 
charts  of  them.  Thus  Paiiy,  in  his  second  voyage,  was  guided  in  his  opera- 
tions by  the  sketches  of  the  talented  Iligliuk ;  and  while  Beechey  was  at  Kotze- 
bue  Sound,  the  natives  constructed  a  chart  of  the  coast  upon  the  sand,  first 
marking  out  the  coast-line  with  a  stick,  and  regulating  the  distance  by  the  day's 
journey.  The  hUls  and  ranges  of  mountains  were  next  shown  by  elevations  of 
sand  or  stone,  and  the  islands  rei)resented  by  heaps  of  pebbles,  their  propor- 
tions being  duly  attended  to.  When  the  mountains  and  islands  were  erected, 
the  villages  and  fishing-stations  were  marked  by  a  number  of  sticks  placed  up- 
right, in  imitation  of  those  which  are  put  up  on  the  coast  wherever  these  peo- 
ple fix  their  abode.  In  this  manner  a  complete  hydrographical  j^lan  was  drawn 
from  Cape  Derby  to  Cape  Krusenstern. 

The  Esquimaux  have  a,  decided  predilection  for  commercial  pursuits,  and 
undertake  long  voyages  for  the  purposes  of  trade.  Thus  on  the  continental 
line  of  coast  Avest  of  the  Mackenzie,  the  Point  Barrow  Esquimaux  proceed 
every  summer,  with  sledges  laden  with  whale  or  seal  oil,  Avhalebone,  Avalrus- 
tusks,  thongs  of  walrus  hide,  and  seal-skins,  to  the  Colville  River,  where  they 
meet  the  Esquimaux  from  Kotzebue  Sound,  who  offer  them  in  exchange  arti- 
cles procured  from  the  Tchuktchi  in  the  previous  summer,  such  as  iron  and 
copper  kettles,  knives,  tobacco,  beads,  and  tin  for  making  pipes.  About  ten 
days  are  spent  in  bartering,  dancing,  and  revelry,  on  the  flat  ground  between 
the  tents  of  each  party,  pitched  a  bow-shot  apart.  The  time  is  one  of  pleasant 
excitement,  and  is  passed  nearly  Avithout  sleep.  About  July  20  this  friendly 
meeting  is  at  an  end:  the  Kotzebue  Sound  Esquimaux  ascend  the  Colville  on 
their  way  homeward,  while  those  from  Point  Barrow  descend  to  the  sea,  to 
pursue  their  voyage  eastward  to  Barter  Reef,  where  they  obtain  in  traffic  from 
the  eastern  Esquimaux  various  skins,  stone  lamps,  English  knives,  small  white 
beads,  and,  lately,  guns  and  ammunition,  which  in  the  year  following  they  ex- 
change for  the  Kotzebue  Sound  articles  at  the  Colville,  along  with  the  produce 
of  their  own  sea-hunts. 

In  this  manner,  articles  of  Russian  manufacture,  originally  purchased  at  the 
fair  of  Osti-ownoje  by  the  Tchuktchi,  or  from  the  factors  of  the  Russian  Fur 
Company  on  Sledge  Island,  in  Bering's  Straits,  find  their  way  from  tribe  to 
tribe  along  the  American  coast  as  far  as  Repulse  Bay,  and  compete  among  the 
tribes  of  the  Mackenzie  with  articles  from  Shefiicld  or  Birmingham. 

A  hunter's  life  is  always  precarious — a  constant  alternation  between  abun- 
dance and  want ;  and  though  the  Esquimaux  strikes  many  a  seal,  white-fish,  or 
walrus  in  the  course  of  the  year,  yet  these  animals  do  not  abound  at  all  sea- 
sons, and  there  are  other  causes,  besides  improvidence,  Avhich  soon  exhaust  the 
stores  laid  l)y  in  times  of  abundance.  Active  exercise  and  constant  exposure 
•  to  cold  are  remarkable  promoters  of  atomic  change  in  the  human  body,  and  a 
very  large  supply  of  food  is  absolutely  necessary  to  counterbalance  the  effects 
of  a  rapid  organic  combustion.  As  a  matter  of  curiosity.  Parry  once  tried 
how  much  an  Esquimaux  lad  would,  if  freely  supplied,  consume  in  the  course 
of  a  day.     The  following  articles  were  weighed  before  being  given  to  him  : 


THE  ESQUIMAUX.  303 

lie  was  twenty  hours  in  getting  tlirough  tbeni,  imQ.  certainly  did  not  consider 
the  quantity  extraordinary. 

lbs.  oz. 

Sea-horse  flesh,  hard  frozen ■!  4 

"      .      "      boiled : 4  4 

Bread  and  bread-dust 1  1'^ 

Total  of  solids 10       4 

The  fluids  were  in  fair  proportion,  viz.,  rich  gravy  soup,  IJ  pint ;  raw  spirits,  3  wine-glasses  ;  strong 
gi-og,  1  tumbler  ;  water,  1  gallon  1  pint.* 

Kane  averages  the  Esquimaux  ration  in  a  season  of  plenty  at  eight  or  ten 
pounds  a  day,  with  soup  and  water  to  the  extent  of  half  a  gallon,  and  finds  in 
this  excessive  consumption — which  is  rather  a  necessity  of  their  peculiar  life 
and  organization  than  the  result  of  gluttony — the  true  explanation  of  the  scarci- 
ty from  which  they  frequently  suffer.  In  times  of  abundance  they  hunt  in- 
domitably without  the  loss  of  a  day,  and  stow  away  large  quantities  of  meat. 
An  excavation  is  made  either  on  the  mainland — or,  what  is  preferred,  on  an  isl- 
and inaccessible  to  foxes — and  the  flesh  is  stacked  inside  and  covered  with 
heavy  stones.  One  such  cache  which  Kane  met  on  a  small  island  contained 
the  flesh  of  ten  walruses,  and  he  knew  of  others  equally  large.  But  by  their  an- 
cient custom,  all  share  with  all ;  and  as  they  migrate  in  numbers  as  their  neces- 
sities prompt,  the  tax  on  each  particular  settlement  is  not  seldom  so  excessive 
that  even  considerable  stores  are  unable  to  Avithstand  the  drain,  and  soon  make 
way  for  pinching  hunger,  and  even  famine. 

*  Captain  Ilall,  who  in  his  search  after  the  remains  of  the  Franklin  expedition  has  now  spent  sev- 
eral years.among  the  Esquimaux,  has  so  far  acquired  their  app.ti'e  that  he  is  able  to  consume  9  lbs. 
of  meat  a  day  without  any  inconvenience. 


504  THE  POLAR   WORLD. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  FUR-TRADE  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  TERRITORIES. 

The  Couveur  des  Bois. — The  Voyageur. — The  Bireli-bark  Canoe. — The  Canadian  Fur-trade  in  the  last 
Centurv. — The  Hudson's  Bay  Company.— Bloody  Feuds  between  the  North-west  Company  of  Can- 
ada and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. — Their  Amalyiamation  into  a  new  Company  in  1821. — Recon- 
struction of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  1863. — Forts  or  Houses. — The  Attihawmeg. — Influence 
of  the  Company  on  its  savage  Dependents. — The  Black  Bear,  or  Baribal. — The  Brown  Bear. — The 
Grizzly  Bear. — The  Raccoon. — The  American  Glutton. — The  Pine  Marten. — The  Pekan,  or  Wood- 
shock."— The  Chinga.— The  Mink. — The  Canadian  Fish-otter. — The  Crossed  Fox.— The  Black  or 
Silvery  Fox.— The  Canadian  Lynx,  or  Pishu.— The  Ice-hare.— The  Beaver.— The  Musquash. 

AS  the  desire  to  reach  India  by  the  shortest  road  first  made  the  civilized 
world  acquainted  with  the  eastern  coast  of  North  America,  so  the  exten- 
sion of  the  fur-trade  has  been  the  chief,  or  rather  the  only,  motive  which  origi- 
nally led  the  footsteps  of  the  white  man  from  the  Canadian  Lakes  and  the  bor- 
ders of  Hudson's  Bay  into  the  remote  interior  of  that  vast  continent. 

The  first  European  fur-traders  in  North  America  were  French  Canadians— 
coureiirs  des  bois— a.  fitting  surname  for  men  habituated  to  an  Indian  forest- 
life.  Three  or  four  of  these  "irregular  spirits  "  agreeing  to  make  an  expedi- 
tion into  the  backwoods  would  set  out  in  their  birch-bark  canoe,  laden  with 
goods  received  on  trust  from  a  merchant,  for  a  voyage  of  great  danger  and 
hardship,  it  might  be  of  several  years,  into  the  wilderness. 

On  their  return  the  merchant  who  had  given  them  credit  of  course  received 
the  lion's  share  of  the  skins  gathered  among  the  Hurons  or  the  Iroquois  ;  the 
small  portion  left  as  a  recompense  for  their  own  labor  was  soon  spent,  as  sailors 
spend  their  hard-earned  wages  on  their  arrival  in  port ;  and  then  they  started 
on  some  new  adventure,  until  finally  old  age,  infirmities,  or  death  prevented 
their  revisiting  the  forest. 

The  modern  "  voyagenr,'''  who  has  usurped  the  place  of  the  old  "  coiireurs,''' 
is  so  like  them  in  manners  and  mode  of  life,  that  to  know  the  one  is  to  become 
acquainted  Avith  the  other.  In  short,  the  voyageur  is  merely  a  coureur  subject 
to  strict  law  and  serving  for  a  fixed  pay ;  Avhile  the  coureur  was  a  voyageur 
trading  at  his  own  risk  and  peril,  and  acknowledging  no  control  when  once 
beyond  the  pale  of  European  colonization. 

The  camel  is  frequently  called  the  "  ship  of  the  desert,"  and  Avith  equal  jus- 
tice the  birch-bark  canoe  might  be  named  the  "  camel  of  the  North  American 
wilds."  For  if  we  consider  the  rivers  which,  covering  the  land  like  a  net-work, 
are  the  only  arteries  of  communication ;  the  frequent  rapids  and  cataracts ;  the 
shallow  waters  flowing  over  a  stony  ground  Avhose  sharp  angles  would  infalli- 
bly cut  to  pieces  any  boat  made  of  wood ;  and  finally  the  surrounding  deserts, 
where,  in  case  of  an  accident,  the  traveller  is  left  to  his  own  resources,  we  must 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  in  such  a  country  no  intercourse  could  possibly  be 


THE   FUR-TRADE   OF   THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   TERRITORIES.  305 

carried  on  without  a  boat  made  of  materials  at  once  flexible  and  tough,  and  ca- 
pable moreover  of  being  easily  repaired  without  the  aid  of  hammer  and  nails, 
of  saw  and  plane.  This  invaluable  material  is  supplied  by  the  rind  of  the  ])aper- 
birch,  a  tree  whose  uses  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories  are  almost  as  manifold 
as  those  of  the  palm-trees  of  the  tropical  zone.  Where  the  skins  of  animals 
are  rare,  the  pliant  bark,  peeled  off  in  large  pieces,  serves  to  cover  the  Indian's 
tent.  Carefully  sewn  together,  and  ornamented  with  the  quills  of  the  porcupine, 
it  is  made  into  baskets,  sacks,  dishes,  plates,  and  drinking-cups,  and  in  fact  is,  in 
one  word,  the  chief  material  of  which  the  household  articles  of  the  Crees  are 
formed.  The  wood  serves  for  the  manufactui-e  of  oars,  snow-shoes,  and  sledges ; 
and  in  spi-ing  the  sap  of  the  tree  furnishes  an  agreeable  beverage,  which,  by 
boiling,  may  be  inspissated  into  a  sweet  syrup.  Beyond  the  Arctic  Circle  the 
paper-birch  is  a  rare  and  crooked  tree,  but  it  is  met  with  as  a  shrub  as  far  as 
69°  N.  lat.  It  grows  to  perfection  on  the  northern  shores  of  Lake  Superior, 
near  Fort  William,  where  the  canoes  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  are  chief- 
ly manufactured. 

A  birch-bark  canoe  is  between  thirty  and  forty  feet  long,  and  the  rinds  of 
Avhich  it  is  built  are  sewn  together  with  filaments  of  the  root  of  the  Canadian 
fir.  In  case  of  a  hole  being  knocked  into  it  during  the  journey,  it  can  be  patch- 
ed like  an  old  coat,  and  is  then  as  good  as  new.  As  it  has  a  flat  bottom,  it  does 
not  sink  deep  into  the  water ;  and  the  river  must  be  almost  dried  up  which 
could  not  carry  such  a  boat.  The  cargo  is  divided  into  bales  or  parcels  of  from 
90  to  100  pounds;  and  although  it  frequently  amounts  to  more  than  four  tons, 
yet  the  canoe  itself  is  so  light  that  the  crew  can  easily  transport  it  upon  their 
shoulders.  This  crew  generally  consists  of  eight  or  ten  men,  two  of  whom 
must  be  experienced  boatmen,  who  receive  double  pay,  and  are  placed  one  at 
the  helm,  the  other  at  the  poop.  When  the  wind  is  fair,  a  sail  is  unfurled,  and 
serves  to  lighten  the  toil. 

The  Canadian  voyageur  combines  the  light-heartedness  of  the  Frenchman 
with  the  apathy  of  the  Indian,  and  his  dress  is  also  a  mixture  of  that  of  the 
Red-skins  and  of  the  European  colonists.  Frequently  he  is  himself  a  mixture 
of  Gallic  and  Indian  blood — a  so-called  "  bois-br{lle,"  and  in  this  case  doubly 
light-hearted  and  unruly.  With  his  woollen  blanket  as  a  surcoat,  his  shirt  of 
striped  cotton,  his  pantaloons  of  cloth,  or  his  Indian  stockings  of  leather,  his 
moccasins  of  deer-skin,  and  his  sash  of  gaudily-dyed  wool,  in  wdiich  his 
knife,  his  tobacco-bag,  and  various  other  utensils  are  stuck,  h,e  stands  high  in 
his  own  esteem.  His  language  is  a  French  jargon,  richly  interlarded  with 
Indian  and  English  words — a  jumble  fit  to  drive  a  grammarian  mad,  but 
which  he  thinks  so  euphonious  that  his  tongue  is  scarcely  ever  at  rest.  His 
supply  of  songs  and  anecdotes  is  inexhaustible,  and  he  is  always  ready  for 
a  dance.  His  politeness  is  exemplary :  he  never  calls  his  comrades  otherwise 
than  "  mon  frere,"  and  "  mon  cousin."  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remark  that 
he  is  able  to  handle  his  boat  with  the  same  ease  as  an  expert  rider  manages 
his  horse. 

When  after  a  hard  day's  work  they  rest  for  the  night,  the  axe  is  immediately 
at  work  in  the  nearest  forest,  and  in  less  than  ten  minutes  the  tent  is  erected 

20 


306  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

and  tlio  kettle  simmering  on  the  fire.  While  the  passengers— perhaps  some 
chief  trader  on  a  voyage  to  some  distant  fort,  or  a  Back  or  a  Richardson  on  his 
way  to  the  Polar  Ocean— are  Avarming  or  drying  themselves,  the  indefatigable 
"  voyageurs"  drag  the  unloaded  canoe  ashore,  turn  it  over,  and  examine  it  care- 
fully, either  to  fasten  again  some  loose  stitches,  or  to  paint  over  some  damaged 
part  with  fresh  resin.  Under  the  cover  of  their  boat,  which  they  turn  against 
the  wind,  and  with  a  flaming  fire  in  the  foreground,  they  then  bid  defiance  to 
the  weather.  At  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  "  Leve  !  16ve  !  leve  !"  is  called  ; 
in  half  an  hour  the  encampment  is  broken  up,  and  the  boat  reladen  and  launched. 
At  eight  in  the  morning  a  halt  is  made  for  breakfast,  for  wh'ich  three-quarters 
of  an  hour  are  allowed.  About  two  in  the  afternoon  half  an  hom-'s  rest  suffices 
for  a  cold  dinner.  Eighteen  hours'  work  and  six  hours'  rest  make  out  the  day. 
The  labor  is  incredible ;  yet  the  "  voyageur "  not  only  supports  it  without  a 
murmur,  but  with  the  utmost  cheerfulness.  Such  a  life  requires,  of  course,  an 
iron  constitution.  In  rowing,  the  arms  and  breast  of  the  "  voyageur  "  are  ex- 
erted to  the  utmost ;  and  in  shallow  places  he  drags  the  boat  after  him,  wading 
up  to  the  knees  and  thighs  in  the  water.  Where  he  is  obliged  to  force  his  way 
against  a  rapid,  the  drag-rope  must  be  pulled  over  rocks  and  stumps  of  trees, 
through  swamps  and  thickets ;  and  at  the  portages  the  cargo  and  the  boat 
have  to  be  carried  over  execrable  roads  to  tlie  next  navigable  water.  Then 
the  "  voyageur  "  takes  upon  his  back  two  packages,  each  Aveighing  90  pounds, 
and  attached  by  a  leathern  belt  running  over  the  forehead,  that  his  hands  may 
be  free  to  clear  the  way ;  and  such  portages  sometimes  occur  ten  or  eleven 
times  in  one  day. 

For  these  toils  of  his  wandering  life  he  has  many  compensations,  in  the 
keen  appetite,  the  genial  sensation  of  muscular  strength,  and  the  flow  of  spirits 
engendered  by  labor  in  the  pure  and  bracing  air.  Surely  many  would  rather 
breathe  with  the  "  voyageur  "  the  fragrance  of  the  pine  forest,  or  share  his  rest 
upon  the  borders  of  the  stream,  than  lead  the  monotonous  life  of  an  artisan, 
pent  up  in  the  impure  atmosphere  of  a  city. 

During  the  first  period  of  the  American  fur-trade  the  "  coureurs  des  bois  " 
used  to  set  out  on  their  adventurous  expeditions  from  the  village  "  La  Chine," 
one  of  the  oldest  and  most  famous  settlements  in  Canada,  whose  name  points 
to  a  time  when  the  St.  Lawrence  was  still  supposed  to  be  the  nearest  way  to 
China.  How  far  some  of  them  may  have  penetrated  into  the  interior  of  the 
continent  is  unknown ;  but  so  much  is  certain,  that  their  regular  expeditions 
extended  as  far  as  the  Saskatchewan,  2500  miles  beyond  the  remotest  European 
settlements.  Several  factories  or  forts  protected  their  interests  on  the  banks 
of  that  noble  river ;  and  the  French  would  no  doubt  have  extended  therr  do- 
minion to  the  Rocky  Mountains  or  to  the  Pacific  if  the  conquest  of  Canada  by 
England,  in  1*761,  had  not  completely  revolutionized  the  fur-trade.  The  change 
of  dominion  laid  it  prostrate  for  several  years,  but  our  entei-prising  countrymen 
soon  opened  a  profitable  intercourse  with  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  west,  as  their 
predecessors  had  done  before  them.  Now,  however,  the  adventurous  "  coureur 
des  bois,"  who  had  entered  the  wilds  as  a  semi-independent  trader,  was  obliged 
to  serve  in  the  pay  of  the  British  merchant,  and  to  follow  him,  as  his  "  voya- 


THE  FUR-TRADE   OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  TERRITORIES.  307 

geur,"  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  wilderness,  until  finally  they  reached  on  the 
Athabasca  and  the  Churchill  River  the  Indian  hunters  who  used  to  sell  their 
skins  in  the  settlements  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

This  company  was  founded  in  the  year  1670  by  a  body  of  adventurers  and 
merchants  under  the  patronage  of  Prince  Rupert,  second  cousin  of  Charles  IT. 
The  charter  obtained  from  the  Crown  was  wonderfully  liberal,  comprising  not 
only  the  grant  of  the  exclusive  trade,  but  also  of  full  territorial  possession  to 
all  perpetuity  of  the  vast  lands  within  the  watershed  of  Hudson's  Bay.  The 
Company  at  once  established  some  forts  along  the  shores  of  the  great  inland 
sea  from  which  it  derived  its  name,  and  opened  a  very  lucrative  trade  with  the 
Indians,  so  that  it  never  ceased  paying  rich  dividends  to  the  fortunate  share- 
holders until  towards  the  close  of  the  last  century,  when,  as  I  have  already  men- 
tioned, its  prosperity  began  to  be  seriously  affected  by  the  energetic  competi- 
tion of  the  Canadian  fur-traders. 

In  spite  of  the  flourishing  state  of  its  affairs,  or  rather  because  the  monop- 
oly which  it  enjoyed  allowed  it  to  prosper  without  exertion,  the  Company,  as 
long  as  Canada  remained  in  French  hands,  had  conducted  its  affairs  in  a  very 
indolent  manner,  waiting  for  the  Indians  to  bring  the  produce  of  their  chase  to 
the  Hudson's  Bay  settlements,  instead  of  following  them  into  the  interior  and 
stimulating  them  by  offering  greater  facilities  for  exchange. 

For  eighty  years  after  its  foundation  the  Company  possessed  no  more  than 
four  small  forts  on  the  shores  of  Hudson's  Bay ;  and  only  when  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  Canadians  at  length  roused  it  from,  its  torpor,  did  it  resolve  like- 
wise to  advance  into  the  interior,  and  to  establish  a  fort  on  the  eastern  shore 
of  Sturgeon  Lake,  in  the  year  1774.  Up  to  this  time,  with  the  exception  of 
the  voyage  of  discovery  Avhich  Hearne  (1770-71)  made  under  its  auspices  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Coppermine  River,  it  had  done  but  little  for  the  promotion 
of  geographical  discovery  in  its  vast  territory. 

Meanwhile  the  Canadian  fur-traders  had  become  so  hateful  to  the  Indians 
that  these  savages  formed  a  conspiracy  for  their  total  extirpation. 

Fortunately  for  the  white  men,  the  small-pox  broke  out  about  this  time 
among  the  Redskins,  and  swept  them  away  as  the  fire  consumes  the  parched 
grass  of  the  prairies.  Their  unburied  corpses  were  torn  by  the  wolves  and 
wild  dogs,  and  the  survivors  were  too  weak  and  dispirited  to  be  able  to  under- 
take any  thing  against  the  foreign  intruders.  The  Canadian  fur-traders  now 
also  saw  the  necessity  of  combining  their  efforts  for  their  mutual  benefit,  instead 
of  ruining  each  other  by  an  insane  competition  ;  and  consequently  formed,  in 
1783,  a  society  which,  under  the  name  of  the  North-west  Company  of  Canada, 
at  first  consisted  of  sixteen,  later  of  twenty  partners  or  shareholders,  some  of 
whom  lived  in  Canada,  while  the  others  were  scattered  among  the  various 
stations  in  the  interior.  The  whole  Canadian  fur-trade  was  now  greatly  de- 
veloped ;  for  while  previously  each  of  the  associates  had  blindly  striven  to  do 
as  much  harm  as  possible  to  his  present  partners,  and  thus  indirectly  damaged 
his  own  interests,  they  now  all  vigorously  united  to  beat  the  rival  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  out  of  the  field.  The  agents  of  this  North-west  Company,  in 
defiance  of  their  charter,  were  indefatigable  in  exploring  the  lakes  and  woods, 


308 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


the  plains  and  the  mountains,  for  tlie  purpose  of  establishing  new  trading-sta- 
tions at  all  convenient  points. 

The  most  celebrated  of  these  pioneers  of  commerce,  Alexander  Mackenzie, 
reached  in  the  year  1789,  the  mouth  of  the  great  river  which  bears  his  name, 
and  saw  the  white  dolphins  gambol  about  in  the  Arctic  Sea.  In  a  second  voy- 
age he  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  followed  the  course  of  the  Fraser 
River  until  it  discharges  its  waters  into  the  Georgian  Gulf  opposite  to  Van- 
couver's Island.  Here  he  wrote  with  perishable  vermilion  the  following  in- 
scription on  a  rock-wall  fronting  the  gulf  :— 

A.  Mackenzie 

arrived  from  Canada  by  land, 

22  July,  1792. 

The  words  were  soon  effaced  by  Avind  and  weather,  but  the  fame  of  the  ex- 
plorer will  last  as  long  as  the  English  language  is  spoken  in  America. 

The  enero-etic  North-west  Company  thus  ruled  over  the  whole  continent 
from  the  Canadian  Lakes  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  in  1806  it  even  crossed 
that  barrier  and  established  its  forts  on  the  northern  tributaries  of  the  Colum- 
bia River.  To  the  north  it  likewise  extended  its  operations,  encroaching  more 
and  more  upon  the  privileges  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  which,  roused  to 
energy,  now  also  pushed  on  its  posts  farther  and  farther  into  the  interior,  and 
established  in  1812  a  colony  on  the  Red  River  to  the  south  of  Winipeg  Lake, 
thus  driving,  as  it  were,  a  sharp  thorn  into  the  side  of  its  rival.  But  a  power 
like  the  North-west  Company,  which  had  no  less  than  50  agents,  70  interpret- 
ers, and  1120  voyageurs  in  its  pay,  and  whose  chief  managers  used  to  appear 
at  their  annual  meetings  at  Fort  William,  on  the  banks  of  Lake  Superior,  with 
all  the  pomp  and  pride  of  feudal  barons,  was  not  inclined  to  tolerate  this  en- 
croachment ;  and  thus,  after  many  quarrels,  a  regular  w^ar  broke  out  between 
the  two  parties,  which,  after  two  years'  duration,  led  to  the  expulsion  of  the 
Red  River  colonists  and  the  murder  of  their  govei-nor,  Semple.  This  event 
took  place  in  the  year  1816,  and  is  but  one  episode  of  the  bloody  feuds  which 
continued  to  reign  between  the  two  rival  companies  until  1821.  At  first  sight 
it  may  seem  strange  that  such  acts  of  violence  should  take  place  between 
British  subjects  and  on  British  soil,  but  then  we  must  consider  that  at  that 
time  European  law  had  little  power  in  the  American  wilderness. 

The  dissensions  of  the  fur-traders  had  most  deplorable  consequences  for 
the  Redskins ;  for  both  companies,  to  swell  the  number  of  their  adherents, 
lavishly  distributed  spirituous  liquors— a  temptation  w^hich  no  Indian  can  re- 
sist. 

The  whole  of  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  Saskatchewan  and  Athabasca 
were  but  one  scene  of  revelry  and  bloodshed.  Already  decimated  by  the 
smuU-pox,  the  Indians  now  became  the  victims  of  drunkenness  and  discord, 
and  it  was  to  be  feared  that  if  the  Avar  and  its  consequent  demoralization  con- 
tinued, the  most  important  tribes  would  soon  be  utterly  swept  away. 

The  finances  of  the  belligerent  companies  were  in  an  equally  deplorable 
state;  the  produce  of  the  chase  diminished  from  year  to   year  Avith  the  in- 


THE   FUR-TRADE   OF  THE   HUDSON'S  BAY  TERRITORIES.  309 

crease  of  their  expenditure ;  and  thus  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  which  used 
to  gratify  its  shareholders  with  dividends  of  50  and  25  per  cent.,  was  unable, 


from  1808  to  1814,  to  distribute  a  single  shilling  among  them.     At  length  wis- 
dom prevailed  over  passion,  and  the  enemies  came   to  a  resolution  which,  if 


310  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

taken  from  the  very  beginning,  would  have  saved  them  both  a  great  deal  of 
treasure  and  many  crimes.  Instead  of  continuing  to  swing  the  tomahawk, 
they  now  smoked  the  calumet,  and  amalgamated  in  1821,  under  the  name  of 
the  "  Hudson's  Bay  Company,"  and  under  the  wing  of  the  charter.  The  Brit- 
ish Government,  as  a  doAvry  to  the  impoverished  couple,  presented  them  with  a 
license  of  exclusive  trade  throughout  the  whole  of  that  territory  which,  under 
the  name  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  North-west  territories,  extends  from  Lab- 
rador to  the  Pacific,  and  from  the  Red  River  to  the  Polar  Ocean.  This  license 
was  terminable  in  21  years,  but  in  1838  it  was  renewed  again  for  the  same  pe- 
riod. The  good  effects  of  peace  and  union  soon  became  apparent,  for  after  a 
few  years  the  Company  was  enabled  to  pay  half-yearly  dividends  of  five  per 
cent.,  and  the  Indians,  to  whom  brandy  was  now  no  longer  supplied  unless  as  a 
medicine,  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  more  sober  life. 

About  1848  the  Imperial  Government,  fearing  that  Vancouver's  Island 
might  be  annexed  by  the  United  States,  resolved  to  place  it  under  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  This  was  accordingly  done  in  1849.  A 
license  of  exclusive  trade  and  management  was  granted  for  ten  years,  termina- 
ble therefore  in  1859  (the  time  of  expiration  of  the  similar  license  over  the 
Indian  territory). 

These  were  the  palmy  days  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  They  held 
Rupert's  Land  by  the  royal  charter,  which  was  perpetual ;  they  held  Vancou- 
ver's Island  and  the  whole  Indian  territory  to  the  Pacific  by  exclusive  licenses, 
terminable  in  1859 ;  and  thus  maintained  under  their  sole  sway  about  4,000,000 
square  miles — a  realm  larger  than  the  whole  of  Europe. 

For  the  ten  years  ending  May  31, 1862,  the  average  net  annual  profits  of  the 
Company  amounted  to  £81,000  on  a  paid-up  capital  of  £400,000,  but  a  portion 
only  of  this  income  was  distributed  as  dividend. 

In  1863  the  Company  was  reconstructed,  with  a  capital  of  £2,000,000,  for  the 
])urpose  of  enlarging  its  operations — such  as  opening  the  southern  and  more 
fruitful  districts  of  the  Saskatchewan  or  the  Winipeg  to  European  coloniza- 
tion ;  but  the  northern,  and  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  the  vast  domains  over 
which,  after  the  dismemberment  of  British  Columbia  and  the  Stikine  territory, 
it  still  holds  sway,  have  too  severe  a  climate  ever  to  be  cultivated,  and,  unless 
their  mineral  wealth  be  made  available,  must  ever  be  what  they  are  now — a 
fur-bearing  region  of  gloomy  pine-forests,  naked  barren  -  grounds,  lakes,  and 
morasses. 

Over  this  vast  extent  of  desert  the  Company  has  established  about  150  trad- 
ing-posts, called  "  houses,''''  or  "forts,''''  which,  however,  consist  merely  of  a  few 
magazines  and  dwelling-houses,  protected  by  a  simple  wall,  stockade,  or  palisade 
sufliciently  strong  to  resist  any  sudden  attack  of  the  Indians.  Among  the  tribes, 
with  whom  a  friendly  intercourse  has  long  subsisted,  and  whose  fidelity  may 
implicitly  be  trusted,  no  guard  is  ever  kept,  and  it  is  only  in  forts  more  recent- 
ly built  in  remote  parts  that  precautions  are  taken. 

These  forts  are  always  situated  on  the  borders  of  a  lake  or  river,  both  for  fa- 
cility of  transport  and  for  the  purpose  of  catching  fish,  particularly  the  species 
of  Coregonus,  or  white-fish,  which,  from  its  importance  to  all  the  natives  of 


THE  FUR-TRADE  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  TERRITORIES. 


311 


Rupert's  Land  between  the  great  Canada  lakes  and  the  Arctic  Sea,  the  Crees 
call  Attihawmeg,  or  the  "  reindeer  of  the  waters."     In  many  of  the  trading- 


posts  it  forms  the  chief  food  of  the  white  residents  ;  and  it  is  asserted  that 
though  deprived  of  bread  and  vegetables,  a  man  may  live  upon  it  for  months  or 


313 


THE   POLAR  WORLD. 


even  years  without  tiring.  According  to  Sir  John  Richardson,  no  fish  in  any 
country  or  sea  excels  tlie  white-fish  in  flavor  and  wholesomeness,  and  it  is  the 
most  beneficial  article  of  diet  to  the  Red  Indians  near  the  Arctic  Circle,  being 
obtained  with  more  certainty  than  the  reindeer,  and  with  less  change  of  abode 
in  summer  and  winter. 

Each  of  the  prhicipal  forts  is  the  seat  of  a  chief  factor,  or  general  adminis- 
trator of  a  district,  and  of  a  chief  trader,  who  transacts  the  business  with  the 
Indians. 

Besides  these  principal  functionaries — out  of  whom  the  governor  is  chosen 
— the  Company  employed,  in  1860,5  surgeons,  87  clerks,  67  postmasters,  1200 
permanent  servants,  and  500  voyageurs,  besides  temporary  employes  of  differ- 
ent ranks,  so  that  the  total  number  of  persons  in  its  pay  was  at  least  3000. 
Besides  this  little  army  of  immediate  de^jendents,  the  whole  male  Indian  popu- 
lation of  its  vast  territory,  amounting  to  about  100,000  hunters  and  trappers, 
may  be  considered  as  actively  employed  in  the  service  of  the  Company.  Arm- 
ed vessels,  both  sailing  and  steam,  are  employed  on  the  north-west  coast  to  car- 
ry on  the  fur-trade  with  the  warlike  natives  of  that  distant  region.  More  than 
twenty  years  ago  this  trade  alone  gave  employment  to  about  1000  men,  occupy- 
ing 21  permanent  establishments,  or  engaged  in  navigating  five  armed  sailing 
vessels  and  one  armed  steamer,  varying  from  100  to  300  tons- in  burden. 

The  influence  of  the  Company  over  its  savage  dependents  may  justly  be 
called  beneficial.  Both  from  motives  of  humanity  and  self-interest,  every  effort 
is  made  to  civilize  them.     No  expense  is  spared  to  preserve  them  from  the 


X  - 


TKADEK  S    CAMP. 


THE  FUR-TRADE   OF  THE   HUDSON'S  BAY   TERRITORIES.  313 

want  into  which  their^improvidence  too  often  phinges  them ;  and  the  example 
of  an  inflexible  straightforwardness  serves  to  gain  their  confidence.  This  moral 
preponderance,  and  the  admiration  of  the  Indian  for  the  superior  knowledge 
and  arts  of  the  Europeans,  explain  how  a  mere  handful  of  white  men,  scattered 
over  an  enormous  territory,  not  only  lead  a  life  of  perfect  security,  but  exercise 
an  almost  absolute  power  over  a  native  population  outnumbering  them  at  least 
several  hundred  times.  The  Indians  have  in  course  of  time  acquired  many  new 
wants,  and  have  thus  become  more  and  more  dependent  on  the  white  traders. 
The  savage  hunter  is  no  longer  the  free,  self-dependent  man,  who,  without  any 
foreign  assistance,  was  able  to  make  and  manufacture,  with  his  own  hands,  all 
the  weapons  and  articles  needed  for  his  maintenance.  Without  English  tire- 
arms  and  fishing-gear,  without  iron-ware  and  woollen  blankets,  he  could  no  long- 
er exist,  and  the  unfortunate  tribe  on  which  the  Company  should  close  its  stores 
would  soon  perish  for  want.  "  History,"  says  Professor  Hind, "  does  not  fur- 
nish another  example  of  an  association  of  private  individuals  exerting  a  power- 
ful influence  over  so  large  an  extent  of  the  earth's  surface,  and  administering 
their  affairs  with  such  consummate  skill  and  unwavering  devotion  to  the  origi- 
nal objects  of  their  incoT-poration." 

The  standard  of  exchange  in  all  mercantile  transactions  with  the  natives  is  a 
beaver  skin,  the  relative  value  of  which,  as  originally  established  by  the  traders, 
differs  considerably  from  the  present  worth  of  the  articles  represented  by  it ; 
but  the  Indians  are  averse  to  change.  They  receive  their  principal  outfit  of 
clothing  and  ammunition  on  credit  in  the  autumn,  to  be  repaid  by  their  winter 
hunts ;  the  amount  intrusted  to  each  of  the  hunters  varying  with  their  reputa- 
tions for  industry  and  skill. 

The  furs  which,  in  the  course  of  the  year,  are  accumulated  in  the  various 
forts  or  trading-stations,  are  transported  in  the  short  time  during  which  the 
rivers  and  lakes  are  navigable,  and  in  the  manner  described  at  the  beginning  of 
the  chapter,  to  York  Factory,  or  Moose  Factory,  on  Hudson's  Bay,  to  Montreal 
or  Vancouver,  and  shipped  from  thence  mostly  to  London.  From  the  more 
distant  posts  in  the  interior,  the  transport  often  requires  several  seasons ;  for 
travelling  is  necessarily  very  slow  when  rapids  and  portages  continually  inter- 
rupt navigation,  and  the  long  winter  puts  a  stop  to  all  intercourse  whatever. 

The  goods  from  Europe,  consisting  (besides  those  mentioned  above)  of 
printed  cotton  or  silk  handkerchiefs,  or  neck-cloths,  of  beads,  and  the  universal 
favorite  tobacco,  require  at  least  as  much  time  to  find  their  way  into  the  distant 
interior ;  and  thus  the  Company  is  not  seldom  obliged  to  wait  for  four,  five, 
or  six  years  before  it  receives  its  returns  for  the  articles  sent  from  London. 
It  must,  however,  be  confessed,  that  it  amply  repays  itself  for  the  tediousness 
of  delay,  for  Dr.  Armstrong  was  told  by  the  Esquimaux  of  Cape  Bathurst — a 
tribe  in  the  habit  of  trading  with  the  Indians  from  the  Mackenzie,  who  are  in 
direct  communication  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  agents — that  for  three 
silver-fox  skins — which  sometimes  fetch  as  high  a  price  as  twenty-five  or  thirty 
guineas  apiece  at  the  annual  sale  of  the  Company — they  had  got  from  the  trad- 
ers cooking  utensils  which  might  be  worth  eight  shillings  and  sixpence ! 

The  value  of  the  skins  annually  imported  into  England  by  the  Company 


314 


THE   POLAR  WORLD. 


amounts  to  about  £150,000  or  £200,000.     Besides,  many  of  its  furs  are  bartered 
for  Russian- American  peltry,  and  a  large  quantity  is  exported  direct  to  China. 


After  this  brief  account  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  mercantile  associa- 
tions of  any  age,  some  remark  on  the  chief  fur-bearing  animals  of  the  Hudson's 


THE  FUR-TRADE   OF  THE   HUDSON'S    BAY  TERRITORIES.  315 

Bay  territory  may  not  be  without  interest.  Among  these,  the  black  bear, 
muskwa,  or  baribal  {Jlrsus  americanus),  is  one  of  the  most  vahiable,  as  his  long 
Ijair — unlike  that  of  the  brown  or  the  white  bear — is  beautifully  smooth  and 
glossy.  He  inhabits  the  forest  regions  of  North  America,  but  migrates  accord- 
ino-  to  the  seasons.  In  spring  he  seeks  his  food  in  the  thickets  along  the  banks 
of  the  rivers  or  lakes ;  in  summer  he  retreats  into  the  forests ;  in  winter  he 
either  wanders  farther  to  the  south,  or  hollows  out  a  kind  of  lair  beneath  the 
root  of  an  overthrown  tree,  where,  as  the  cold  is  more  or  less  severe,  he  either 
finds  a  retreat  after  his  excursions,  or  hibernates  buried  in  the  snow.  He  feeds 
chiefly  on  berries,  grain,  acorns,  roots,  eggs,  and  honey ;  though,  when  pressed 
by  hunger,  he  will  attack  other  quadrupeds.  He  climbs  upon  trees  or  rocks 
with  great  agility,  and,  being  very  watchful,  is  not  easily  got  at  in  summer. 
Sometimes,  however,  his  caution  brings  about  his  destruction ;  for,  from  fear 
of  some  possible  danger,  or  at  the  slightest  noise,  he  rises  on  his  hind  legs  to 
look  over  the  bushes  under  which  he  lies  concealed,  and  thus  offers  a  mark  to 
the  bullet  of  the  hunter.  In  the  winter,  when  the  snow  betrays  his  traces,  he 
is  more  easily  shot,  and  his  skin  and  flesh  are  then  also  in  the  best  condition. 
In  spite  of  his  apparent  clumsiness  and  stolidity,  the  muskwa  is  more  alert 
than  the  brown  bear,  whom  he  nearly  approaches  in  size ;  he  runs  so  fast  that  no 
man  can  overtake  him,  and  is  an  excellent  swimmer  and  climber.  When  attacked, 
he  generally  retreats  as  fast  as  possible  into  the  forest ;  but  if  escape  is  im- 
possible, he  turns  furiously  upon  his  pursuers,  and  becomes  exceedingly  danger- 
ous. Dogs  alone  are  incapable  of  mastering  him,  as  he  is  always  ready  to  re- 
ceive them  with  a  stroke  of  his  fore  paw ;  but  they  are  very  useful  in  driving 
him  up  a  tree,  and  thus  giving  the  hunter  an  opportunity  of  hitting  him  in  the 
right  spot.  When  in  a  state  of  captivity,  the  baribal,  in  his  mild  and  good- 
humored  disposition,  is  distinguished  from  the  brown  and  white  bear.  His 
fur  is  also  much  more  valuable  than  that  of  the  brown  bear. 

It  is  not  yet  fully  ascertained  whether  the  American  brown  bear  is  identical 
with  that  of  Europe ;  the  resemblance,  however,  is  close.  In  summer  he  wan- 
ders to  the  shores  of  the  Polar  Sea,  and  indulges  more  frequently  in  animal 
food  than  the  baribal.  He  is  even  said  to  attack  man  when  pressed  by  hunger ; 
but  all  those  whom  Sir  John  Richardson  met  with  ran  away  as  soon  as  they 
saw  him. 

As  the  grizzly  bear  ( JJrsiis  ferox)  is  found  on  the  Rocky  IMountains  up  to 
the  latitude  of  61°,  he  undoubtedly  deserves  a  jilace  among  the  sub- arctic  ani- 
mals. The  skin  of  this  most  formidable  of  the  ursine  race,  who  is  about  nine 
feet  long,  and  is  said  to  attain  th^  weight  of  eight  hundred  pounds,  is  but  little 
prized  in  the  fur-trade.  He  is  the  undoubted  monarch  of  his  native  wilds,  for 
even  the  savage  bison  flies  at  his  approach. 

Although  the  raccoon  [Procyon  lotor)  is  more  commonly  found  in  Canada 
and  the  United  States,  yet  he  is  also  an  inhabitant  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  terri- 
tories, where  he  is  met  with  up  to  56°  N.  lat.  This  interesting  little  animal, 
which,  like  the  bears,  applies  the  sole  of  its  foot  to  the  ground  in  walking,  has 
an  average  length  of  two  feet  fi-om  the  nose  to  the  tail,  which  is  about  ten  inch- 
es long.     Its  color  is  grayish-brown,  with  a  dusky  line  running  from  the  top  of 


316  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

the  head  down  the  middle  of  the  face,  and  ending  below  the  eyes.  The  tail  is 
very  thickly  covered  with  hair,  and  is  annulated  with  several  black  bars  on  a 
yellowish-white  gronnd.  Its  face  is  very  like  that  of  the  fox,  whom  it  equals 
in  cunning,  while  its  active  and  playful  habits  resemble  those  of  the  monkey. 
Its  favorite  haunts  are  the  Avoods,  near  streams  or  lakes,  for  one  of  its  most 
marked  peculiarities,  from  which  it  has  received  its  specific  name  of  lotor,  or  the 
washer,  is  its  habit  of  plunging  its  dry  food  into  water  before  eating  it.  The 
raccoon  devours  almost  any  thing  that  comes  in  his  way — fruits  and  grain  of  all 
sorts,  birds'  nests,  mice,  grasshoppers,  beetles :  while  the  waters  yield  him  fishes, 
crabs,  and  oysters,  which  he  is  very  expert  in  opening.  His  fur  forms  no  in- 
considerable article  of  commerce,  and  is  very  fashionable  in  Russia.  In  1841, 
111,316  raccoon  skins  were  imported  into  St.  Petersburg,  and  more  than  half  a 
million  were  stapled  in  Leipzig,  intended,  no  doubt,  for  smuggling  across  the 
frontier. 

The  fur  of  the  American  glutton,  or  wolverine,  is  much  used  for  muffs  and 
linings ;  yet,  from  its  being  a  notorious  robber  of  their  traps,  the  animal  is  as 
much  hated  by  the  Indian  hunters  as  the  dog-fish  by  the  northern  fishermen. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  territories  can  not  boast  of  the  sable,  but  the  American 
phie  marten  {3Iartes  ahietum)  is  not  much  inferior  in  value,  as  its  dark-brown 
fur  is  remarkably  fine,  thick,  and  glossy.  It  frequents  the  woody  districts, 
where  it  preys  on  birds,  and  all  the  smallei-  quadrupeds  from  the  hare  to  the 
mouse.  Even  the  squirrel  is  incapable  of  escaping  the  jjine  marten,  and  after 
having  vaulted  and  climbed  from  tree  to  tree,  sinks  at  last  exhausted  into  its 
gripe. 

The  pekan,  or  M'oodshock  {Martes  canadensis),  the  largest  of  the  marten  fam- 
ily, is  also  the  one  which  most  richly  supplies  the  fur-market.  It  is  found  over 
the  whole  of  North  America,  and  generally  lives  in  burrows  near  the  banks  of 
rivers,  as  it  principally  feeds  on  the  small  quadrupeds  that  frequent  the  water. 

Several  species  of  ermine  inhabit  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories,  but  their 
skins  are  of  no  great  importance  in  the  fur-trade.  Like  many  other  species  of 
the  marten  family,  they  eject,  when  irritated  or  alarmed,  a  fluid  of  a  fetid  odor : 
but  in  this  respect  they  are  far  surpassed  by  the  chinga  {3Iephitis  chinga), 
whose  secretion  has  so  intolerable  a  smell  that  the  least  quantity  suffices  to  pro- 
duce nausea  and  a  sense  of  suffocation.  This  animal  is  frequently  found  near 
Hudson's  Bay,  whence  it  extends  farther  to  the  north.  In  spite  of  the  formi- 
dable means  of  defense  with  which  it  has  been  armed  by  nature,  it  is  of  use  to 
man,  for  its  black  and  white  sl-riped  fur  (which,  as  may  easily  be  supposed, 
never  appears  in  the  European  market)  provides  the  Indians  with  coverings 
or  tobacco-poi;ches.  Before  seizing  the  chinga,  they  irritate  it  with  a  long 
switch  until  it  has  repeatedly  emptied  the  glands  from  which  the  noxious  va- 
por issues ;  then  suddenly  springing  upon  it,  they  hold  it  up  by  the  tail  and 
dispatch  it. 

The  mink  {Vison  americanus),  another  member  of  the  weasel  family,  is  one 
of  the  most  important  fur-bearing  animals  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories.  It 
resembles  the  small  European  fish-otter  {Vison  lutreola),  but  its  skin  is  far  more 
valuable — the  brown  hair  with  which  it  is  covered  beincr  much  softer  and  thick- 


THE   FUR-TRADE   OF  THE  HUDSO'N'S  BAY  TERRITORIES.  317 

er.  As  its  toes  are  connected  by  a  small  web,  it  is  an  excellent  swimmer,  and 
as  formidable  to  the  salmon  or  trout  in  the  water  as  to  the  hare  on  land. 

The  Canadian  fish-otter  {Lutra  canadensis)  far  surpasses  the  European  spe- 
cies, both  in  size  and  in  the  beauty  of  its  glossy  brown  skin.  It  occurs  as  far 
northward  as  66°  or  6*7°  lat.,  and  is  generally  taken  by  sinking  a  steel  trap 
near  the  mouth  of  its  burrow.  It  has  the  habit  of  sliding  or  climbing  to  the 
top  of  a  ridge  of  snow  in  winter,  or  of  a  sloping  moist  bank  in  summer,  where, 
lying  on  the  belly,  with  the  fore  feet  bent  backward,  it  gives  itself  with  the 
hind  legs  an  impulse  which  sends  it  swiftly  down  the  eminence.  This  school- 
boy sport  it  continues  for  a  long  time. 

The  red  fox  {Vulpes  fulvus),  which  is  found  throughout  the  Hudson's  Bay 
territories,  has  likewise  a  much  finer  fur  than  our  common  fox.  It  is  of  a  bright 
ferruginous  red  on  the  head,  back,  and  sides ;  beneath  the  chin  it  is  white, 
while  the  throat  and  neck  are  of  a  dark  gray,  and  the  under  parts  of  the  body, 
toward  the  tail,  are  of  a  very  pale  red.  The  crossed  fox  {Cams  decussatics), 
thus  named  from  the  black  cross  on  its  shoulders,  is  still  more  valuable ;  its 
skin — the  color  of  Avhich  is  a  sort  of  gray,  resulting  from  the  mixture  of  black 
and  white  hair — being  worth  four  or  five  guineas.  Peltry  still  more  costly  is 
furnished  by  the  black  or  silvery  fox  {Canis  argetitatus),  whose  copious  and 
beautiful  fur  is  of  a  rich  and  shining  black  or  deep  brown  color,  with  the  long- 
er or  exterior  hairs  of  a  silvery  white.  Unfortunately  it  is  of  such  rare  occur- 
rence that  not  more  than  four  or  five  are  annually  brought  to  a  trading-post. 

The  Canada  lynx,  or  pishu  {Lynx  canadensis),  is  smaller  than  the  European 
species,  but  has  a  finer  fur,  those  skins  being  most  valued  which  approach  to  a 
pale  or  whitish  color,  and  on  which  the  spots  are  most  distinct.  It  chiefly  feeds 
on  the  hare  {Le2nis  americanus),  which  is  not  much  larger  than  a  rabbit,  and 
is  found  on  the  banks  of  the  Mackenzie  as  far  north  as  68°  or  69°. 

Still  nearer  to  the  Pole,  the  ice-hare  {Lepus  glacialis)  ranges  as  far  as  the 
Parry  Islands  (75°  N.  lat.),  where  it  feeds  on  the  arctic  willow,  and  other  high 
northern  plants.  Its  favorite  resorts  are  the  stony  districts,  where  it  easily 
finds  a  refuge ;  in  winter  it  buri'ows  in  the  snow.  In  summer  its  back  is  gray- 
ish white,  but  as  the  cold  increases,  it  becomes  white,  with  the  exception  of  the 
tips  of  the  ears,  which  remain  constantly  black. 

Formerly  the  beaver  {Castor  fiber)  was  the  most  important  of  the  fur-bear- 
ing animals  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories.  In  the  year  1743,  127,000  beaver 
skins  were  exported  from  Montreal  to  La  Rochelle,  and  26,700  by  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  to  London.  At  present,  the  exportation  hardly  amounts  to  one- 
third  of  this  quantity.  As  the  beaver  chiefly  lives  on  the  barks  of  the  willow, 
the  beech,  and  the  poplar,  it  is  not  found  beyond  the  forest  region  ;  but  along 
the  banks  of  the  Mackenzie  it  reaches  a  very  high  latitude. 

The  musk-rat,  ondatra  or  musquash  {Fiber  zibethicus) — which  is  about  the 
size  of  a  small  rabbit,  and  of  a  reddish-brown  color — is  called  by  the  Indians 
the  younger  brother  of  the  beaver,  as  it  has  similar  instincts.  Essentially  a 
bank-haunting  animal,  it  is  never  to  be  seen  at  any  great  distance  from  the 
water,  where  it  swims  and  dives  with  consummate  ease,  aided  greatly  by  the 
webs  which  connect  the  hinder  toes.     It  drives  a  large  series  of  tunnels  into 


318  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

the  bank,  branching  out  in  various  directions,  and  having  several  entrances,  all 
of  which  open  under  the  surface  of  the  water.  If  the  animal  happens  to  live 
ui)on  a  marshy  and  uniformly  wet  soil,  it  becomes  a  builder,  and  lives  in  curi- 
ously-constructed huts,  from  three  to  four  feet  in  height,  plastered  with  great 
neatness  in  the  inside,  and  strengthened  externally  with  a  kind  of  basket-work 
of  rushes,  carefully  interlaced  together.  The  judgment  of  the  animal  shows 
itself  in  the  selection  of  the  site,  invariably  choosing  some  ground  above  tlie 
reach  of  inundation,  or  else  raising  its  hut  on  an  artificial  foundation;  for, 
though  obliged  to  reside  near  flat,  submerged  banks,  where  the  soft  soil  is  full 
of  nourishing  roots,  it  requires  a  dry  home  to  rest  in. 

In  wdnter  the  musquash  villages — for  the  huts  are  sometimes  built  in  such 
numbers  together  as  to  deserve  that  name — are  generally  covered  with  thick 
snow,  under  which  this  rodent  is  able  to  procure  water,  or  to  reach  the  provis- 
ions laid  up  in.  its  storehouse.  Thus  it  lives  in  ease  and  plenty,  for  the  marten 
is  too  averse  to  the  water,  and  the  otter  too  bulky  to  penetx-ate  into  its  tunnels. 
But  Avhen  the  snow  melts,  and  the  huts  of  the  musquash  appear  above  the 
ground,  the  Indian,  taking  in  his  hand  a  large  four-barbed  spear,  steals  up  to 
the  house,  and  driving  his  weapon  througli  tlie  walls,  is  sure  to  pierce  the  ani- 
mals inside.  Holding  the  spear  firmly  with  one  hand,  he  takes  his  tomahawk 
from  his  belt,  dashes  the  house  to  pieces,  and  secures  the  inmates.  Another 
method  employed  by  the  Indians  to  capture  the  musquash  is  to  block  up  the 
different  entrances  to  their  tunnels,  and  then  to  intercept  the  animals  as  they 
try  to  escape.  Sometimes  the  gun  is  used,  but  not  very  frequently,  as  the  mus- 
quash is  so  Avary  that  it  dives  at  the  least  alarm,  and  darts  into  one  of  its  holes. 
The  trap,  however,  is  the  ordinaiy  means  of  destruction.  The  soft  and  glossy 
fur  of  the  musquash,  though  worth  no  more  than  from  6d.  to  9cl,  is  still  a  not 
inconsiderable  article  of  trade,  as  no  less  than  half  a  million  skins  are  annually 
imported  into  England  for  hat-making ;  nor  is  there  any  fear  of  the  musquash 
being  extirpated,  in  spite  of  its  many  enemies,  as  it  multiplies  very  fast,  and  is 
fotmd  near  every  swamp  or  lake  with  grassy  banks  as  far  as  the  confines  of  the 
Polar  Sea. 


THE   CREE   INDIANS,  OR  EYTHINYUWUK. 


319 


HUNTING  BISON  IN   THE   SNOW. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE  CREE  INDIANS,  OR  EYTHINYUWUK. 

The  various  Tribes  of  the  Crees.— Their  Conquests  and  subsequent  Defeat.— Their  Wars  with  the  Black- 
feet.— Their  Character.— Tattooing.— Their  Dress.— Fondness  for  their  Children.— The  Cree  Cradle.— 
Vapor  Baths.— Games.— Their  religious  Ideas. — The  Cree  Tartarus  and  Elysium. 

THE  various  tribes  of  the  Crees,  or  Eythinyuwuk,  range  from  the  Rocky- 
Mountains  and  the  plains  of  the  Saskatchewan  to  the  swampy  shores  of 
Hudson's  Bay.  Towards  the  Avest  and  north  they  border  on  the  Tinne,  towards 
the  east  and  south,  on  the  Ojibbeway  or  Sauteurs,  who  belong  like  them  to  the 
great  family  of  the  Lenni-lenape  Indians,  and  inhabit  the  lands  between  Lake 
Winipeg  and  Lake 'Superior. 

About  sixty  years  since,  at  the  time  when  Napoleon  was  deluging  Europe 
with  blood,  the  Crees  likewise  played  the  part  of  conquerors,  and  subdued  even 
more  extensive,  though  less  valuable  domains. 

Provided  with  fire-arms,  which  at  that  time  were  unknown  to  their  northern 
and  western  neighbors,  they  advanced  as  far  as  the  Arctic  Circle,  imposing 
tribute  on  the  various  tribes  of  the  Tinne.  But  their  triumphs  were  not  more 
durable  than  those  of  the  gi-eat  European  conqueror. 

The  small-pox  broke  out  among  them  and  swept  them  away  by  thousands. 
Meanwhile  the  Tinne  tribes  had  remained  untouched  by  this  terrible  scourge; 
and  as  the  agents  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  advancing  farther  and  farther 
to  the  west  and  north,  had  likewise  made  them  acquainted  with  the  use  of  fire- 
arms, they  in  their  turn  became  the  aggressors,  and  drove  the  Crees  before  them. 


B20 


THE   POLAR  WORLD. 


Their  former  conquerors  now  partly  migrated  to  the  south,  and  leaving  the 
forest  region,  where  they  had  hunted  the  reindeer  and  the  elk,  spread  over  the 
prairies  of  the  Saskatchewan,  where  they  now  pursued  the  herds  of  bison, 
sometimes  driving  them  over  a  precipice,  or  chasing  them  on  foot  through  the 
snow.  But  in  their  new  abodes  they  became  engaged  in  constant  feuds  witli 
their  new  neighbors  the  Assiniboins  and  Blackfeet,  who  of  course  resented 
their  intrusion. 

The  romance  in  which  the  manners  and  character  of  the  Indians  are  por- 
trayed might  lead  us  to  attribute  to  these  people  a  loftiness  of  soul  for  which 
it  would  be  vain  to  look  in  the  present  day,  and  which  without  much  skepticism 
we  may  assert  they  never  really  possessed.  Actions  prompted  only  by  the  ca- 
price of  a  barbarous  people  have  been  considered  as  the  results  of  refined  sen- 
timent; and  savage  cunning,  seen  through  the  false  medium  of  prejudice,  as- 
sumed the  nobler  proportions  of  a  far-sighted  policy.  But  though  the  history 
of  the  wars  of  the  Indians  among  themselves  and  with  the  Europeans  affords 
but  few  instances  of  heroism,  it  abounds  in  traits  of  revolting  cruelty,  and  in 
pictures  of  indescribable  wretchedness. 

A  large  party  of  Blackfeet  once  made  a  successful  foray  in  the  territory  of 
the  Crees.  But  meanwhile  the  latter  surprised  the  camp  where  the  aggressors 
had  left  their  wives  and  children ;  and  thus,  when  the  Blackfeet  returned  to 
their  tents,  they  found  desolation  and  death  where  they  looked  for  a  joyful  wel- 
come. In  their  despair  they  cast  away  their  arms  and  their  booty,  and  retired 
to  the  mountains,  where  for  three  days  and  nights  they  wailed  and  mourned. 


7^& 


\4 


UEUD    OF   BISON. 


THE   CREE  INDIANS,  OR  EYTHINYUWUK. 


321 


:x 


'^-^^^'fS 


DRIVING    BISON   OVER   A  PRECIPICE. 


In  the  year  1 840  a  bloody  ^\  ar  bi  ol^c 
out  between  the  Ciees  and  tlie  Black- 
feet,  arising  as  in  genei  al  f i  oni  a  very- 
trifling  cause.  Peace  v/as  at  lengtli  con- 
cluded, but  while  the  two  nations  ueie 
celebrating  this  foitunate  event  Avith 
games  and  races,  a  Ciec  stole  a  i  xgged 
blanket,  and  a  new  figlit  ininicdi  itol) 
began.  Returning  home,  tlie  Black  feet 
met  a  Cree  chief  tain,  a\  ith  two  of  his, 
warriors,  and  killed  them  after  a  shoi  t 
altercation.  Soon  after  the  Crees  sur- 
prised and  murdered  some  of  the  Black- 
feet,  and  thus  the  war  raged  more  furiously  than  ever.  Sir  George  Simpson, 
who  was  travelling  through  the  country  at  the  time,  visited  the  hut  of  a  Cree 
who  had  been  wounded  in  the  conflict  at  the  peace  meeting.  As  in  his  flight 
he  bent  over  his  horse's  neck,  a  ball  had  struck  him  on  the  right  side,  and  re- 
mained sticking  near  the  articulation  of  the  left  shoulder.  In  this  condition  he 
had  already  lain  for  three-and-thirty  days,  his  left  arm  frightfully  swollen,  and 
the  rest-  of  his  body  emaciated  to  a  skeleton.  Near  the  dying  savage,  whose 
glassy  eye  and  contracted  features  spoke  of  the  dreadful  pain  of  which  he  dis- 
dained to  speak,  lay  his  child,  reduced  to  skin  and  bones,  and  expressing  by  a 
perpetual  moaning  the  pangs  of  illness  and  hunger,  while  most  to  be  pitied 
perhaps  of  this  wretched  family  was  the  wife  and  mother,  who  seemed  to 
be  sinking  under  the  double  load  of  care  and  fatigue.  During  the  night  the 
"medicine-man"  was  busy  beating  his  magic  drum  and  driving  away  the  evil 
spirits  from  the  hut. 

Although  the  Crees  show  great  fortitude  in  enduring  hunger  and  the  other 
evils  incident  to  a  hunter's  life,  yet  any  unusual  accident  dispirits  them  at  once, 
and  they  seldom  venture  to  meet  their  enemies  in  open  warfare,  or  even  to  sur- 
prise them,  unless  they  have  a  great  advantage  in  point  of  numbers.  Instances 
of  personal  bravery  like  that  of  the  Esquimaux  are  rare  indeed  among  them. 
Superior  in  personal  appearance  to  the  Tinne,  they  are  less  honest,  and  though 
perhaps  not  so  much  given  to  falsehood  as  the  Tinne,  are  more  turbulent  and 
more  prompt  to  invade  the  rights  of  their  countrymen,  as  well  as  of  neighbor- 
ing nations. 

21 


323  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

TattooiiKT  is  almost  universal  among  them.     Jhe  women  are  in  general  con- 
tent with  havmg  one  or  two  lines  drawn  from  the  corners  of  the  mouth  towards 


the  angles  of  the  lower  jaw,  but  some  of  the  men  have  their  bodies  covered 
with  lines  and  figures.     It  seems  to  be  considered  by  most  rather  as  a  proof  of 


THE   CREE  INDIANS,  OR  EYTHINYUWUK.  323 

courage  than  an  ornament,  as  the  operation  is  both  painful  and  tedious.  The 
lines  on  the  face  are  formed  by  dexterously  running  an  awl  under  the  cuticle, 
and  then  drawing  a  cord,  dipped  in  charcoal  and  water,  through  the  canal  thus 
formed.  The  punctures  on  the  body  are  made  by  needles  of  various  sizes,  set 
in  a  frame.  A  number  of  hawk-bells  attached  to  this  frame  serve,  by  their  noise, 
to  cover  the  groans  of  the  sufferer,  and  probably  for  the  same  reason  the  process 
is  accompanied  with  singing.  An  indelible  stain  is  produced  by  rubbing  a  lit- 
tle finely-powdered  willow-charcoal  into  the  puncture.  A  half-breed,  whose  arm 
was  amputated  by  Sir  John  Richardson,  declared  that  tatooing  was  not  only 
the  more  painful  operation  of  the  two,  but  rendered  infinitely  more  difiicult  to 
bear  by  its  tediousness,  having  lasted,  in  his  case,  three  days. 

The  Crees  are  also  fond  of  painting  their  faces  with  vermilion  and  charcoal. 
In  general  the  dress  of  the  male  consists  of  a  blanket  thrown  over  the  shoulders, 
a  leathern  shirt  or  jacket,  and  a  piece  of  cloth  tied  round  the  middle.  The 
women  have  in  addition  a  long  petticoat,  and  both  sexes  wear  a  kind  of  wide 
hose,  which,  reaching  from  the  ankle  to  the  middle  of  the  thigh,  are  suspended 
by  strings  to  the  girdle.  These  hose,  or  "  Indian  stockings,"  are  commonly  or- 
namented with  beads  or  ribands,  and  from  their  convenience  have  been  univer- 
sally adopted  by  the  Avhite  residents,  as  an  essential  part  of  their  winter-cloth- 
ing. Their  shoes,  or  rather  soft  boots  (for  they  tie  round  the  ankle),  are  made 
of  dressed  moose-skins;  and  during  the  winter  they  wrap  several  pieces  of 
blanket  round  their  feet.  They  arefond  of  European  articles  of  dress,  such  as 
great-coats,  shawls,  and  calicoes,  which,  however  showy  they  may  be  at  first,  are 
soon  reduced  to  a  very  filthy  condition  by  their  custom  of  greasing  the  face  and 
hair  with  soft  fat  or  marrow.  This  practice  they  say  preserves  the  skin  soft,  and 
protects  it  from  cold  in  the  winter  and  the  mosquitoes  in  summer ;  but  it  ren- 
ders their  presence  disagreeable  to  Europeans  who  may  chance  to  be  seated 
near  them  in  a  close  tent  and  near  a  hot  fire. 

The  Cree  women  are  not  in  general  treated  harshly  by  their  husbands :  a 
great  part  of  the  labor,  however,  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  wife.  She  makes  the 
hut,  cooks,  dresses  the  skins,  anc]  for  the  most  part  carries  the  heaviest  load  ; 
but  when  she  is  unable  to  perform  her  task,  tlie  husband  does  not  consider  it 
beneath  his  dignity  to  assist  her. 

The  Crees  are  extremely  indulgent  to  their  children.  The  father  never 
chastises  them ;  and  the  mother,  though  more  hasty  in  her  temper,  seldom  be- 
stows a  blow  on  a  troublesome  child. 

The  cradle  in  use  among  them  is  well  adapted  to  their  mode  of  life,  and  is 
one  of  their  neatest  articles  of  fur;iiture,  being  generally  ornamented  with  beads 
and  bits  of  scarlet  cloth,  but  it  bears  a  very  strong  resemblance  in  its  form  to  a 
mummy-case.  The  infant  is  placed  in  this  bag,  having  its  lower  extremities 
wrapped  up  in  soft  sphagnum,  or  bog-moss,  and  may  be  hung  up  in  the  tent  or 
to  the  branch  of  a  tree,  without  the  least  danger  of  tumbling  out ;  or,  in  a  jour- 
ney may  be  suspended  on  the  mother's  back  by  a  band  which  crosses  the  fore- 
head so  as  to  leave  her  hands  free.  The  sphagnum  forms  a  soft  elastic  bed, 
which  absorbs  moisture  very  readily,  and  affords  such  a  protection  from  the 
winter  cold  that  its  place  would  be  ill  supplied  by  any  other  material. 


324 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


A   CKEE   VILLAGE. 


The  ordinary  wigwams,  skin  tents,  or  "  lodges  "  of  the  Tinne  and  Crees  are 
exactly  alike  in  form,  being  extended  on  poles  set  up  in  a  conical  manner ;  but 
as  a  genei-al  rule  the  tents  of  the  latter  are  more  commodious  and  more  fre- 
quently suppHed  with  a  fresh  lining  of  the  spray  of  the  balsam-fir.  They  also 
occasionally  erect  a  larger  dwelling  of  lattice-work,  covered  with  birch-bark,  in 
which  forty  men  or  more  can  assemble  for  feasting,  debating,  or  performing- 
some  of  their  religious  ceremonies.  The  entire  nation  of  the  Eythinyuwuk  cul- 
tivate oratory  more  than  their  northern  neighbors,  who  express  themselves  more 
sim])Iy  and  far  less  fluenfty. 

Vapor  baths  are  in  common  use  with  the  Crees,  and  form  one  of  the  chief 
remedies  of  their  medicine-men.  The  operator  shuts  himself  up  with  his  patient 
in  the  small  sweating-house — in  which  red-hot  stones  besprinkled  with  water, 
and  having  a  few  leaves  of  a  species  of  prnnics  strewed  around  them,  produce 
a  damp  atmosphere  of  a  stifling  heat — and  shampoos  him,  singing  all  the  time  a 
kind  of  hymn.  As  long  as  the  medicine-man  can  hold  out,  so  long  must  the 
patient  endure  the  intense  heat  of  the  bath,  and  then,  if  the  invalid  be  able  to 
move,  they  both  plunge  into  the  river.  If  the  patient  does  not  recover,  he  is  at 
least  more  speedily  released  from  his  sufferings  by  this  powerful  remedy. 

The  Crees  are  a  vain,  fickle,  improvident,  indolent,  and  ludicrously  boastful 
race.  They  are  also  great  gamblers,  but,  instead  of  cards  or  dice,  they  play 
with  the  stones  of  a  species  of  7:)nmi<s.  The  difficulty  lies  in  guessing  the  num- 
ber of  stones  which  are  tossed  out  of  a  small  wooden  disli,  and  the  hunters 
will  spend  whole  nights  at  this  destructive  sport,  staking  their  most  valuable 


THE   CREE   INDIANS,  OR  EYTHINYUWUK.  325 

articles.  They  have,  however,  a  much  more  manly  amusement,  termed  the 
"cross,"  although  they  do  not  engage  even  in  it  without  depositing  consider- 
able stakes.  An  extensive  meadow  is  chosen  for  this  sport,  and  the  articles 
staked  are  tied  to  a  post,  or  deposited  in  the  custody  of  two  old  men.  The  com- 
batants being  stripped  and  painted,  and  each  provided  with  a  kind  of  racket, 
in  shape  resembling  the  letter  P,  with  a  handle  about  two  feet  long,  and  a  head 
loosely  wrought  with  net-work,  so  as  to  form  a  shallow  bag,  range  themselves 
on  different  sides,  A  ball  being  now  tossed  up  in  the  middle,  each  party  en- 
deavors to  drive  it  to  their  respective  goals,  and  much  dexterity  and  agility  is 
displayed  in  the  contest.  When  a  nimble  runner  gets  the  ball  in  his  cross,  he 
sets  off  towards  the  goal  with  the  utmost  speed,  and  is  followed  by  the  rest,  who 
endeavor  to  jostle  him  and  shake  it  out,  but,  if  hard  pressed,  he  discharges  it 
with  a  jerk,  to  be  forwarded  by  his  own  party  ©r  bandied  back  by  their  oppo- 
nents until  the  victory  is  decided  by  its  passing  the  goal. 

Neither  the  Esquimaux  nor  the  Tiune  have  any  visible  objects  of  worship, 
but  the  Crees  carry  with  them  small  wooden  figures  rudely  carved,  or  merely 
the  tops  of  a  few  willow-bushes  tied  together,  as  the  representatives  of  a  mali- 
cious, or  at  least  capricious  being,  called  Kepoochikann,  Their  most  common 
petition  to  this  being  is  for  plenty  of  food,  but  as  they  do  not  trust  entirely  to 
his  favor,  they  endeavor  at  the  same  time  to  propitiate  the  animal,  an  imagina- 
ry representative  of  the  whole  race  of  larger  quadrupeds  that  are  objects  of  the 
chase. 

Though  often  referring  to  the  Kitche-manito,  the  "  Great  Spirit,"  or  "  Mas- 
.ter  of  Life,"  they  do  not  believe  that  he  cares  for  his  creatures,  and  consequent- 
ly never  think  of  praying  to  him.  They  have  no  legend  about  the  creation,  but 
they  speak  of  a  deluge  caused  by  an  attempt  of  the  fish  to  drown  Woesack-oo- 
tchacht,  a  kind  of  demi-god,  with  whom  they  had  quarrelled.  Having  construct- 
ed a  raft,  this  being  embarked  Avith  his  family  and  all  kinds,  of  birds  and  beasts. 
After  the  flood  had  continued  for  some  time,  he  ordered  several  Avaterfowl  to 
dive  to  the  bottom.  They  Avere  all  di-owned ;  but  a  musk-rat,  disjDatched  on 
the  same  errand,  returned  with  a  mouthful  of  mud,  out  of  Avhich  Woesack- 
ootchacht,  imitating  the  mode  in  which  the  rats  construct  their  houses,  formed 
a  new  earth.  First  a  small  conical  hill  of  mud  appeared  aboA^e  the  water ;  by- 
and-by,  it's  base  gradually  spreading  out,  it  became  an  extensive  bank,  which 
the  rays  of  the  sun  at  length  hardened  into  firm  land.  Notwithstanding  the 
power  that  Woesack-ootchacht  here  displayed,  his  person  is  held  in  very  little 
reverence  by  the  Indians,  who  do  not  thmk  it  worth  while  to  make  any  effort 
to  avert  his  wrath. 

Like  the  Tinne,  the  Crees  also  have  a  Tartarus  and  an  Elysium.  The  souls 
of  the  departed  are  obliged  to  scramble  with  great  labor  up  the  sides  of  a  steep 
mountain,  upon  attaining  the  summit  of  Avhich  they  are  rcAvarded  with  the 
prospect  of  an  extensive  plain_  abounding  in  all  sorts  of  game,  and  interpersed 
here  and  there  with  new  tents  pitched  in  pleasant  situations.  While  they  are 
absorbed  in  the  contemjjlation  of  this  delightful  scene,  they  are  descried  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  happy  land,  Avho,  clothed  in  new  skin  dresses,  approach  and 
Avelcome,  Avith  every  demonstration  of  kindness,  those  Indians  Avho  have  led 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


good  lives,  but  the  bad  Indians  are  told  to  return  from  whence  they  came,  and 
^thout  more  ceremony  are  hurled  down  the  precipice. 

As  yet  Christianity' has  made  but  little  progress  among  the  Indians  of  Brit- 
ish North  America,  its  benefits  being  hitherto  confined  to  the  Ojibbeways  of 
Lake  Huron,  and  to  a  small  number  of  the  Crees  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  territory. 
The  well-fed  Sauteurs  of  the  Winipeg  are  as  disinclined  to  be  converted  as  the 
buffalo-hunters  of  the  prairies. 


THE  TLNN^  INDIANS,  327 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE    TINNE    INDIANS. 

The  various  Tribes  of  the  Tinne  Indians.— The  Dog-ribs. — Ckthing. — The  Hare  Indians. — Degraded 
State  of  the  Women.— Practical  Socialists. — Character. — Cruelty  to  the  Aged  and  Infirm. 

THE  Tinne  Indians,  whose  various  tribes  range  from  the  Lower  Mackenzie 
to  the  Upper  Saskatchewan,  and  from  New  Caledonia  to  the  head  of  Ches- 
terfield Inlet,  occupy  a  considerable  part  of  the  territories  of  the  Hudson's  Bay- 
Company.  To  their  race  belong  the  Strongbows  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  ;  the 
Beaver  Indians,  between  Peace  River  and  the  west  branch  of  the  Macken- 
zie ;  the  Red-knives,  thus  named  from  the  copper  knives  of  which  their  native 
ores  furnish  the  materials,  and  who  roam  between  the  Great  Fish  River  and  the 
Coppermine ;  the  Hare  Indians,  who  inhabit  the  thickly  wooded  district  of  the 
Mackenzie  from  Slave  Lake  downward ;  the  Dog-ribs,  who  occupy  the  inland 
country  on  the  east  from  Martin  Lake  to  the  Coppermine ;  the  Athabascans, 
who  frequent  the  Elk  and  Slave  Rivers,  and  many  other  tribes  of  inferior  note. 
The  Tinne,  in  general,  have  more  regular  features  than  the  Esquimaux,  and, 
taken  on  the  whole,  exhibit  all  the  characteristics  of  the  red  races  dwelling 
farther  south ;  but  their  utter  disregard  of  cleanliness  and  their  abject  be- 
havior (for  when  in  the  company  of  white  people  they  exhibit  the  whine  and 
air  of  inveterate  mendicants)  give  them  a  wretched  appearance,  Mackenzie, 
the  first  European  who  became  acquainted  with  the  Dog-ribs,  describes  them 
as  an  ugly  emaciated  tribe,  covered  with  dirt  and  besmeared  with  grease  from 
head  to  foot.  More  than  sixty  years  have  passed  since  Mackenzie's  journey, 
but  his  account  of  therii  is  true  to  the  present  day.  The  women  are  even 
uglier  and  more  filthy  than  the  men,  for  the  latter  at  least  paint  their  unwashed 
faces  and  wear  trinkets  on  festive  occasions,  while  the  females  leave  even  their 
hair  Avithout  any  other  dressing  than  wiping  their  greasy  hands  on  the  matted 
locks,  when  they  have  been  rubbing  their  bodies  with  marrow.  The  clothing 
of  the  men  in  summer  consists  of  reindeer  leather  dressed  like  shammy,  which, 
when  newly  made,  is  beautifully  white  and  soft.  "  A  shirt  of  this  material," 
says  Sir  John  Richardson,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  best  account  of  the 
various  nations  inhabiting  the  Hudson's  Bay  territory,  "  cut  evenly  below, 
reaches  to  the  middle ;  the  ends  of  a  piece  of  cloth  secured  to  a  waist-band 
hang  down  before  and  behind;  the  hose, or  Indian  stockings,  descend  from  the 
top  of  the  thigh  to  the  ankle,  and  a  pair  of  moccasins  or  shoes  of  the  same  soft 
leather  with  tops  which  fold  round  the  ankle,  complete  the  costume.  When 
the  hunter  is  equipped  for  the  chase  he  wears,  in  addition,  a  stripe  of  white 
hare-skin,  or  of  the  belly  part  of  a  deer-skin,  in  a  bandana  round  the  head,  with 
his  lank,  black  elf-locks  streaming  from  beneath ;  a  shot-pouch  suspended  by 
an  embroidered  belt,  a  fire-bag  or  tobacco-pouch  tucked  into  the  girdle,  and  a 


3g8  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

long  fowling-piece  thrown  carelessly  across  the  arm,  or  balanced  ori  the  back  of 
the  neck.  The  several  articles  here  enumerated  are  ornamented  at  the  seams 
and  hems  with  leather  thongs  wound  round  with  jiorcupine  quills,  or  more  or 
less  embroidered  with  bead- work,  according  to  the  industry  of  the  wife  or 
wives.  One  of  the  young  men,  even  of  the  slovenly  Dog-ribs,  when  newly 
equipped,  and  tripping  jauntily  over  the  mossy  ground  with  an  elastic  step,  dis- 
plays his  slim  and  not  ungraceful  figure  to  advantage.  But  this  fine  dress  once 
donned  is  neither  laid  aside  nor  cleaned  while  it  lasts,  and  soon  acquires  a  dingy 
look,  and  an  odor  which  betrays  its  owner  at  some  distance.  In  the  camp  a 
greasy  blanket  of  English  manufacture  is  worn  over  the  shoulders  by  day,  and 
forms  with  the  clothes  the  bedding  by  night." 

In  winter  they  clothe  themselves  wath  moose  or  reindeer  skins,  retaining  the 
hair,  while  a  large  robe  of  the  same  material  is  thrown  over  the  shoulders,  and 
hangs  down  to  the  feet  in  place  of  the  blanket.  The  women's  dress  resembles 
the  men's,  but  the  skirt  is  somewhat  longer,  and  generally  accompanied  by  a 
petticoat  which  reaches  nearly  to  the  knee.  The  form  of  dress  here  described 
is  common  to  the  whole  Tinne  nation,  and  also  to  the  Crees,  but  the  material 
varies  with  the  district.  Thus  moose-deer,  red-deer,  and  bison  leather  are  in 
use  among  the  more  southern  and  western  tribes,  and  the  Hare  Indians  make 
their  skirts  of  the  skins  of  the  animal  from  which  they  derive  their  surname. 
As  this,  however,  is  too  tender  to  be  used  in  the  ordinary  way,  it  is  torn  into 
narrow  strips,  twisted  slightly,  and  plaited  or  worked  into  the  required  shape. 
Such  is  the  closeness  and  fineness  of  the  fur  that  these  hare-skin  dresses  are 
exceedingly  warm,  notwithstanding  the  closeness  of  their  texture. 

The  Hare  Indian  and  Dog-rib  women  are  certainly  at  the  bottom  of  the 
scale  of  humanity  in  North  America.  Not  that  they  are  treated  Avith  cruelty, 
but  that  they  are  looked  upon  as  inferior  beings,  and  in  this  belief  they  them- 
selves acquiesce.  In  early  infancy  the  boy  discovers  that  he  may  show  any 
amount  of  arrogance  towards  his  sisters,  who,  as  soon  as  they  can  walk,  are 
harnessed  to  a  sledge,  while  the  tiny  hunter  struts  in'  his  snow-shoes  after  the 
men  and  apes  their  contempt  of  the  women.  All  the  work,  except  hunting  and 
fishing,  falls  to  their  share ;  yet  they  are  in  general  not  discontented  with  their 
lot. 

It  would  be  vain  to  look  among  the  Dog-ribs  for  the  stoicism  popularly 
attributed  to  the  Indians,  for  they  shrink  from  pain,  shed  tears  readily,  and  are 
very  timorous  ;  but  all,  young  and  old,  enjoy  a  joke  heartily,  and  when  young 
are  lively  and  cheerful.  When  bands  of  their  nation  meet  each  other  after  a 
long  absence,  they  perform  a  kind  of  dance.  A  piece  of  ground  is  cleared  for 
the  purpose,  and  the  dance  frequently  lasts  for  two  or  three  days,  the  parties 
relieving  each  other  as  they  get  tired.  The  two  bands  commence  the  dance 
with  their  backs  turned  to  each  other,  the  individuals  following  one  another  in 
Indian  file,  and  holding  the  bow  in  the  left  hand  and  an  arrow  in  the  right. 
They  approach  obliquely  after  many  turns,  and  when  the  two  bands  are  closely 
back  to  back,  they  feign  to  see  each  other  for  the  first  time,  and  the  bow  is  in- 
stantly transferred  to  the  right  hand  and  the  arrow  to  the  left,  signifying  that 
it  is  not  their  intention  to  use  them  against  their  friends.     Their  dancing,  which 


THE   TINNlfi   INDIANS.  329 

they  accompany  by  a  chorus  of  groans,  compared  by  Sir  John  Richardson  to 
the  deep  sigh  of  a  pavior  as  he  brings  his  rammer  down  upon  the  pavement,  has 
not  the  Least  pretensions  to  grace ;  their  knees  and  body  are  half  bent,  and,  from 
their  heavy  stamping,  they  appear  as  if  desirous  of  sinking  into  the  ground. 

The  Dog-ribs  are  practical  socialists,  and  their  wretched  condition  results 
in  a  great  measure  from  this  cause.  All  may  avail  themselves  of  the  produce 
of  a  hunter's  energy  or  skill,  and  do  not  even  leave  him  the  distribution  of  his 
own  game.  When  it  becomes  known  in  a  camp  that  deer  have  been  killed,  the 
old  men  and  women  of  each  family  sally  forth  with  their  sledges  and  divide  the 
quarry,  leaving  the  owner  nothing  but  the  ribs  and  tongue — all  he  can  claim  of 
right.  Unable  to  restrain  their  appetite,  all  the  community  feast  in  times  of 
abundance,  however  little  many  of  the  men  (and  there  are  not  a  few  idle  ones) 
may  have  contributed  to  the  common  good.  Taught  by  frequent  sufferings, 
the  more  active  hunters  frequently  withdraw  from  the  worthless  drones,  leav- 
ing them  at  some  flshing-station,  where,  with  proper  industry,  they  may  subsist 
comfortably.  Fish-diet  is,  however,  not  agreeable  to  their  taste,  and  as  soon  as 
reports  of  a  successful  chase  arrive,  a  general  movement  to  the  hunting-ground 
ensues.  If  on  their  march  the  craving  multitude  discover  a  hoard  of  meat,  it  is 
devoured  on  the  spot ;  but  they  are  not  always  so  fortunate.  The  deer  and  the 
hunters  may  have  gone  off,  and  then  they  are  obliged  to  retrace  their  steps, 
many  perishing  by  the  way. 

The  Dog-ribs  are  not  conspicuous  for  hospitality«  When  a  stranger  enters 
a  tent  he  receives  no  welcome  and  proffer  of  food,  though  he  may  help  himself 
from  a  piece  of  meat  hanging  on  the  wall  or  join  the  repast.  Though  great 
liars,  they  do  not  steal  the  white  man's  property  like  the  Esquimaux  and  Crees, 
and  when  visiting  a  fort,  they  may  be  trusted  in  any  of  the  rooms.  As  to  their 
religious  belief,  the  majority  of  the  nation  recognize  a  Great  Spirit,  while  others 
doubt  his  existence,  assigning  as  a  reason  their  miserable  condition.  They  are 
in  great  fear  of  evil  spirits,  which,  as  they  imagine,  assume  the  forms  of  the 
bear,  wolf,  and  wolverine,  and  in  the  woods,  waters,  and  desert  places  they  fancy 
they  hear  them  howling  in  the  winds  or  moaning  by  the  graves  of  the  dead. 
They  never  make  offerings  to  the  Great  Spirit,  but  deprecate  the  wrath  of  an 
evil  being  by  the  promise  of  a  sacrifice,  or  by  scattering  a  handful  of  deer-hair 
or  a  few  feathers.  They  believe  in  a  state  of  future  happiness  or  torment. 
The  soul,  after  death,  crosses  a  broad  river  in  a  boat,  and  thus  endeavors  to 
reach  the  opposite  shore,  which  is  adorned  with  all  the  beauties  of  paradise.  If 
laden  with  crime,  the  boat  sinks  under  the  weight,  and  the  unfortunate  soul,  im- 
mersed in  water,  strives  in  vain  to  reach  the  blissful  abode  from  which  it  is  for- 
ever banished. 

Formerly  when  a  Tinne  warrior  died,  it  was  customary  for  the  family  to 
abandon  every  article  they  possessed,  and  betake  themselves,  in  a  perfectly  des- 
titute condition,  to  the  nearest  body  of  their  own  people  or  trading-post.  The 
advice  of  traders  is  gradually  breaking  down  this  absurd  practice,  which  would 
alone  suffice  to  keep  this  people  in  a  state  of  perpetual  poverty.  In  other  re- 
spects also,  European  influence  begins  to  make  itself  felt.  Since  1846  Roman 
Catholic  missionaries  are  at  work  among  the  Chepewyans,  and  have  taught  many 


330  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

of  their  converts  to  read  and  write.  The  Athabascans  had  formerly  but  a  small 
breed  of  dogs,  now  a  stouter  race  has,  in  some  respects,  ameliorated  the  condi- 
tion of  the  fl'males,  and  the  introduction  of  the  horse,  which  has  more  recently 
taken  place,  holds  out  prospects  of  a  still  greater  improvement.  The  Tinne  are 
as  giddy  and  thoughtless  as  children.  When  accompanied  by  a  white  man 
they  will  perform  a  long  journey  carefully,  but  can  not  be  depended  upon  to 
carry  letters,  however  high  the  reward  may  be  that  has  been  promised  them  on 
reaching  their  destination,  as  the  least  whim  suffices  to  make  them  forget  their 
commission. 

They  are  generally  content  with  one  wife  at  a  time,  and  none  but  the  chiefs 
have  more  than  two.  The  successful  wrestler  takes  the  wife  of  his  Aveaker 
countryman,  who  consoles  himself  for  his  loss  by  endeavoring  to  find  one  weaker 
than  himself. 

Tender  and  affectionate  parents,  the  Tinne  are  totally  indifferent  to  the  sor- 
rows of  helpless  age.  During  the  stay  of  Sir  George  Back  at  Fort  Reliance, 
an  old  Avoman  arrived  there  on  Easter  Sunday,  clothed  in  ragged  reindeer  skins,, 
worn  down  to  a  skeleton,  and  grasping  Avith  both  her  hands  a  stick  to  support 
her  body,  bent  double  by  age  and  want.  The  story  of  the  poor  creature  was 
soon  told.  She  had  become  a  burden  to  her  family ;  her  former  services  had 
all  been  forgotten,  and  she  had  been  told  "  that  though  she  still  seemed  to  live, 
she  was  in  reality  dead,  and  must  be  abandoned  to  her  fate.  In  the  new  fort 
she  might  find  assistance,  for  the  white  strangers  were  powerful  medicine-men." 
This  had  happened  a  month  before,  and  all  this  time  she  had  slowly  crept  along, 
appeasing  her  hunger  with  the  berries  she  found  here  and  there  on  the  way. 
When  she  reached  the  fort  it  Avas  too  late;  she  died  a  feAV  days  after  her 
arrival. 


THE  LOUCHEUX,  OR  KUTCHIN  INDIANS. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE  LOUCHEUX,  OR  KUTCHIN  INDIANS. 

The  Countries  they  inhabit. — Their  Appearance  and  Dress. — Their  Love  of  Finery. — Condition  of  the 
Women. — Strange  Customs. — Character. — Feuds  with  the  Esquimaux. — Their  suspicious  and  timo- 
rous Lives. — Pounds  for  catching  Reindeer. — Their  Lodges. 

ON  the  banks  of  the  Lower  Mackenzie,  to  the  west  of  Great  Bear  Lake,  in 
the  territories  drained  by  the  Peel  River  and  by  the  Upper  Yukon, 
dwell  the  Loucheux,  or  Kutchin  Indians,  whose  language  is  totally  different 
from  that  of  the  other  North  American  tribes,  and  whose  customs  and  manners 
also  vary  considerably  from  those  of  all  their  neighbors,  both  Red-skins  and 
Esquimaux, 

They  are  an  athletic  and  fine-looking  people,  with  regular  features  and  a 
complexion  of  a  lighter  copper  color  than  that  of  the  other  Red  Indians,  so  that 
many  of  their,  women  would  be  reckoned  handsome  in  any  country.  The  fe- 
males tattoo  their  cliins  and  use  a  black  pigment  when  they  paint  their  faces, 
while  the  men  employ  both  red  and  black  on  all  occasions  of  ceremony,  and  al- 
ways to  be  ready,  each  carries  a  small  bag  with  red  clay  and  black  lead  suspend- 
ed to  his  neck.  Most  commonly  the  eyes  are  encircled  with  black,  a  stripe  of 
the  same  runs  down  the  middle  of  the  nose,  and  a  blotch  is  daubed  on  the  upper 
part  of  each  cheek.  The  forehead  is  crossed  by  many  narrow  red  strijDes,  and 
the  skin  is  streaked  alternately  with  red  and  black. 

The  outer  shirt  of  the  Kutchin  is  made  of  the  skins  of  fawn  reindeer,  dress- 
ed with  the  hair  on  after  the  manner  of  the  Hare,  Dog-rib,  and  other  Chepe- 
wyan  tribes,  but  resembles  in  form  the  analogous  garment  of  the  Esquimaux, 
being  furnished  with  peaked  skirts,  though  of  smaller  size.  The  men  wear 
these  skirts  before  and  behind ;  the  women  have  larger  back  skirts,  but  none  in 
front.  In  winter  shirts  of  hare-skin  are  worn,  and  the  pantaloons  of  deer-skin 
have  the  fur  next  the  skin. 

None  of  the  neighboring  nations  pay  so  much  attention  to  personal  cleanli- 
ness, or  are  so  studious  in  adorning  their  persons.  A  broad  band  of  beads  is 
worn  across  the  shoulders  and  breast  of  the  shirt,  and  the  hinder  part  of  the 
dress  is  fringed  with  tassels  wound  round  with  dyed  porcupine  quills  and  strung 
with  the  silvery  fruit  of  the  oleaster  {Elceagnus  argentea) ;  a  stripe  of  beads, 
strung  in  alternate  red  and  white  squares,  ornament  the  seams  of  the  trowsers, 
and  bands  of  beads  encircle  the  ankles.  The  poorer  sort,  or  the  less  fortunate 
hunters,  who  are  unable  to  procure  these  costly  trinkets  in  the  same  enviable 
abundance  as  the  rich,  strive  to  wear  at  least  a  string  of  beads,  and  look  down 
with  contemptuous  pity  upon  the  still  more  needy  class,  which  is  reduced  to 
adorn  itself  with  porcupine  quills  only. 

In  consequence  of  this  passionate  fondness  for  beads,  these  ornaments  serve 


332  TIIE   POLAR  WORLD. 

as  a  nicdinm  of  exchange  among  the  Kutehin,  and  Sir  John  Richardson  re- 
marks that  no  such  near  approach  to  money  has  been  invented  by  the  nations 
to  the  eastward  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  standard  bead,  and  one  of  the 
most  vahie,  is  a  large  one  of  white  enamel,  manufactured  in  Italy  only,  and  is 
with  difficulty  procured  in  sufficient  quantity  to  satisfy  the  demand,  as  beads 
are  more  prized  than  English  cloth  and  blankets. 

Another  article  very  much  in  request  among  the  Kutehin  is  the  large  ribbed 
dentalium  shell  which  is  collected  in  the  archipelago  between  Oregon  and  Cape 
Fairweather,  and  passes  by  trade  from  tribe  to  tribe  until  it  finds  its  way  at 
length  to  the  Yukon.  With  this  shell  they  adorn  their  mittens,  and  even  at- 
tach it  to  their  guns,  which  have  been  lately  mtroduced,  and  are  in  great  de- 
mand. All*  men  carry  powder  and  ball,  whether  they  own  a  gun  or  not,  and 
obtain  for  it  a  share  of  the  game. 

The  tribes  on  the  Yukon  tie  their  hair  behind  in  a  cue,  or  "  chignon,"  and 
daub  it  with  grease,  and  the  down  of  geese  and  ducks,  until,  by  the  repeti- 
tion of  the  process  continued  from  infancy,  it  swells  to  an  enormous  thickness, 
so  that  the  weight  of  the  accumulated  load  of  hair,  dirt,  and  ornaments  causes 
the  wearer  to  stoop  forward  habitually.  The  tail-feathers  of  the  eagle  and 
fishing-hawk  are  stuck  into  the  hair  on  the  back  of  the  head,  and  are  removed 
only  when  the  owner  retires  to  sleep,  or  when  he  wishes  to  wave  them  to  and 
fro  in  a  dance. 

The  principal  men  have  two  or  three  wives  each,  while  the  bad  hunters  are 
obliged  to  remain  bachelors.  A  good  wrestler,  however,  even  though  poor,  can 
always  obtain  a  wife. 

The  women  do  all  the  drudgery  in  winter  except  cooking,  and  do  not  eat 
till  the  husband  is  satisfied.  In  summer  they  labor  little,  except  in  drying 
meat  or  fish  for  its  preservation.  The  men  alone  paddle  while  the  women  sit 
as  passengers,  and  husbands  even  carry  their  wives  to  the  shore  on  their  arms, 
that  they  may  not  wet  their  feet — an  instance  of  gallantry  almost  unparalleled  in 
savage  life.  The  Esquimaux  women  row  their  own  "  oomiaks,"  and  the  Chepe- 
wyan  women  assist  the  men  in  paddling  their  canoes.  On  the  whole,  the  so- 
cial condition  of  the  Kutehin  women  is  far  superior  to  that  of  the  Tinne  women, 
but  scarcely  equal  to  that  of  the  Esquimaux  dames. 

They  do  not  carry  their  children  in  their  hoods  or  boots  like  the  Esquimaux, 
nor  do  they  stuff  them  into  a  bag  with  moss  like  the  Tinne  and  Crees,  but  they 
place  them  in  a  seat  of  birch-bark,  with  a  back  and  sides  like  those  of  an  arm- 
chair, and  a  pommel  in  front  resembling  the  peak  of  a  Spanish  saddle,  by  which 
they  hang  it  from  their  back.  The  child's  feet  are  bandaged  to  prevent  them 
growing,  small  feet  being  thought  handsome,  and  consequently  short  unshapely 
feet  are  characteristic  of  the  people  of  both  sexes.  A  more  ridiculous  or  insane 
custom  can  hardly  be  imagined  among  a  nation  of  hunters. 

The  Kutehin  are  a  lively,  cheerful  people,  fond  of  dancing  and  singing,  in 
which  they  excel  all  other  Indians  ;  leaping,  Avrestling,  and  other  athletic  exer- 
cises are  likewise  favorite  amusements.  They  are  inveterate  talkers.  Every 
new-comer  arriving  at  a  trading-post  makes  a  long  speech,  which  must  not  be 
interrupted.     The  belief  in  Shamanism  is  still  in  full  vigor  among  them. 


THE   LOUCHEUX,  OR  KUTCHIN  INDIANS.  333 

Though  a  treacherous  people,  they  have  never  yet  imbrued  their  hands  in 
European  blood,  but  there  are  frequent  feuds  among  their  various  tribes,  by 
which  one-half  of  the  population  of  the  banks  of  the  Yukon  has  been  cut  off 
within  the  last  twenty  years.  From  a  constant  dread  of  ambuscade,  they  do 
not  travel  except  in  large  parties ;  and  thus  a  perpetual  feeling  of  insecurity 
embitters  their  lives,  which  are  already  rendered  sufficiently  hard  by  the  sever- 
ity of  an  Arctic  climate.  The  agents  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  have  en- 
deavored by  good  advice,  and  the  distribution  of  large  presents,  to  establish 
peace,  but  have  only  met  with  partial  success. 

Like  the  Tinne,  the  Kutchin  are  in  a  state  of  perpetual  warfare  with  the  Es- 
quimaux ;  and  though  they  always  charge  the  latter  with  treachery,  yet  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  accusation  might,  with  full  justice,  be  retorted  upon 
themselves.  One  of  the  hostile  encounters,  mentioned  by  Sir  J.  Richardson,  de- 
serves notice,  on  account  of  its  resemblance  in  some  particulars  to  the  meeting 
of  Joab  and  Abner,  recorded  in  the  Second  Book  of  Samuel.  A  party  of  each  of 
the  two  nations  having  met  on  the  banks  of  a  river,  the  young  men  of  both 
parties  rose  up  as  if  for  a  friendly  dance.  The  stream  glides  peacefully  along, 
the  setting  sun  gilds  the  pine  forest  and  sparkles  in  the  waters ;  all  nature 
breathes  peace.  But  the  Esquimaux  having,  according  to  their  custom,  con- 
cealed their  long  knives  in  the  sleeves  of  their  deer-skin  shirts,  suddenly  draw 
them  in  one  of  the  evolutions  of  the  dance  and  plunge  them  into  their  oppo- 
nents. A  general  conflict  ensues,  in  which  the  Kutchin,  thanks  to  their  guns, 
ultimately  prove  victorious.  "Another  incident,"  says  Sir  John  Richardson, 
"  which  occurred  on  the  banks  of  the  Yukon  in  1845,  gives  us  a  farther  insight 
into  the  suspicious  and  timorous  lives  of  these  people.  One  night  four  stran- 
gers from  the  lower  part  of  the  river  arrived  at  the  tent  of  an  old  man  who  was 
sick,  and  who  had  with  him  only  two  sons,  one  of  them  a  mere  boy.  The  new- 
comers entered  in  a  friendly  manner,  and  when  the  hour  of  repose  came,  lay 
down ;  but  as  they  did  not  sleep,  the  sons,  suspecting  from  their  conduct  that 
they  meditated  evil,  feigned  a  desire  of  visiting  their  moose-deer  snares.  They 
intimated  their  purpose  aloud  to  their  father  and  went  out,  taking  with  them 
their  bows  and  arrows.  Instead,  however,  of  continuing  their  way  into  the 
Vood,  they  stole  back  quietly  to  the  tent,  and  listening  on  the  outside,  discover- 
ed, as  they  fancied,  from  the  conversation  of  the  strangers,  that  their  father's 
life  was  in  danger.  Knowing  the  exact  position  of  the  inmates,  they  thereupon 
shot  their  arrows  through  the  skin  covering  of  the  tent  and  killed  two  of  the 
strange  Indians ;  and  the  other  two,  in  endeavoring  to  make  their  escape  by  the 
door,  shared  the  fate  of  their  companions.  This  is  spoken  of  in  the  tribe  as  an 
exceedingly  brave  action." 

During  the  summer  the  Yukon  Kutchin  dry,  for  their  winter  use,  the  As^hite- 
fish  {Coregonus  albus),  which  they  catch  by  planting  stakes  across  the  smaller 
rivers  and  narrow  parts  of  the  lakes  and  closing  the  oi^enings  Avith  wicker-bas- 
kets. They  take  the  moose-deer  in  snares,  and  towards  spring  mostly  resort  to 
the  mountains  to  hunt  reindeer  and  lay  in  a  stock  of  dried  venison.  On  the 
open  pastui-e-grounds  frequented  by  this  animal  they  construct  large  pounds. 
Two  rows  of  posts  firmly  planted  in  the  ground,  and  united  by  the  addition  of 


334  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

stroni;  horizontal  bars  into  a  regular  fence,  extend  their  arms  for  nearly  the 
length  of  a  mile  in  the  form  of  a  Roman  V.  The  extremity  of  the  avenue  is 
closed  by  stakes  with  sharp  points  sloping  towards  the  entrance,  on  which  the 
reindeer,'  driven  together  and  hotly  pursued  by  the  Indians,  may  impale  them- 
selves in  their  desperate  flight.  The  structure  is  erected  with  great  labor,  as 
the  timber  has  to  be  transported  into  the  open  country  from  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. Some  of  these  may  be  a  century  old,  and  they  arc  the  hereditary  pos- 
session of  the  families  or  tribes  by  whom  they  were  originally  constructed. 

But  in  spite  of  all  their  contrivances  and  the  use  of  fire-arms,  the  Kutchin, 
whose  numbers  on  the  banks  of  the  Yukon  are  estimated  at  about  a  thousand 
men  and  boys  able  to  hunt,  are  frequently  reduced  to  great  distress.  Hence 
the  old  and  infirm  are  mercilessly  left  to  their  fate  when  game  is  scarce,  and 
famine  makes  itself  felt.  Attempts  have  been  vainly  made  to  better  the  con- 
dition of  the  northern  Indians  by  inducing  them  to  tame  the  reindeer.  Their 
superstition  is  one  of  the  obstacles  against  this  useful  innovation,  for  they  fear 
that  Avere  they  to  make  some  of  the  reindeer  their  captives,  the  remainder  would 
immediately  leave  the  country.  "  And  Avhy,"  they  add,  "  should  we  follow  like 
slaves  a  herd  of  tame  animals,  when  the  forest  and  the  barren  ground  provide 
us  with  the  elk,  the  wild  reindeer,  and  the  muskox,  and  our  rivers  and  lakes  are 
filled  with  fishes  that  cost  us  nothing  but  the  trouble  of  catching  them  ?" 

Each  family  possesses  a  deer-skin  tent  or  lodge,  which  in  summer,  when  in 
quest  of  game,  is  rarely  erected.  The  winter  encampment  is  usually  in  a  grove 
of  spruce-firs;  the  ground  being  cleared  of  snow,  the  skins,  Avhich  are  prepared 
with  the  hair,  are  extended  over  flexible  Avillow  poles  which  take  a  semicircular 
form.  This  hemispherical  shape  of  lodges  is  not  altogether  unknown  among 
the  Chepewyans  and  Crees,  being  that  generally  adapted  for  their  vapor  baths, 
framed  of  willow  poles,  but  their  dwelling-places  are  conical,  as  stiff  poles  are 
used  for  their  construction. 

When  the  tent  is  erected  the  snow  is  packed  on  outside  to  half  its  height, 
and  it  is  lined  equally  high  within  with  the  young  spray  of  the  spruce-fir,  that 
the  bodies  of  the  inmates  may  not  rest  against  the  cold  wall.  The  doorway  is 
filled  up  by  a  double  fold  of  skin,  and  the  apartment  has  the  closeness  and 
warmth  but  not  the  elegance  of  the  Esquimaux  snow  hut,  which  it  resembles 
in  shape.  Though  only  a  very  small  fire  is  kept  in  the  centre  of  the  lodge,  yet 
the  Avarmth  is  as  great  as  in  a  log-house.  The  provisions  are  stored  on  the 
outside  under  fir  branches  and  snow,  and  further  protected  from  the  dogs  by 
sledges  being  placed  on  top. 


ARCTIC   VOYAGES   OF   DISCOVERY.  335 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

ARCTIC  VOYAGES  OF  DISCOVERY,  FROM  THE  CABOTS  TO  BAFFIN. 

First  Scandinavian  Discoverer  of  America. — The  Cabots.  — Willoughbj' and  Cliancellor  (1553-1554). — 
Stephen  Burrough  (1556). — Frobisher  (1576-1578). — Davis  (1585-1587). — Barentz,  Cornelis,  and 
Brant  (1594). — Wintering  of  the  Dutch  Jvavigators  in  Nova  Zenibla  (1596-1597). — John  Knight 
(160C).— Murdered  by  the  Esquimaux.— Henry  Hudson  (1607-1609).— Baffin  (1616). 

LONG  before  Columbus  sailed  from  the  port  of  Palos  (1492)  on  that  ever- 
memorable  voyage  which  changed  the  geography  of  the  world,  the  Scan- 
dinavians had  already  found  the  way  to  North  America.  From  Greenland, 
which  was  known  to  them  as  early  as  the  ninth  century,  and  which  they  began 
to  colonize  in  the  year  985,  they  sailed  farther  to  the  west,  and  gradually  extend- 
ed their  discoveries  from  the  coasts  of  Labrador,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Newfound- 
land, to  those  of  the  present  State  of  Rhode  Island,  Avhich,  from  the  Avild  vines 
they  there  found  growing  in  abundance,  they  called  the  "  good  Vinland." 

But  a  long  series  of  disasters  destroyed  their  Greenland  colonies  about  the 
end  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  as  Scandinavia  itself  had  at  that  time  but 
very  little  intercourse  with  the  more  civilized  nations  of  Southern  Europe,  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that,  despite  the  discoveries  of  Giinnbjorn  and  Eric  the 
Red,  the  great  western  continent  remained  unknown  to  the  world  in  general. 

One  of  the  first  consequences  of  the  achievements  of  Columbus  was  the  re- 
discovery of  the  northern  part  of  America,  for  the  English  merchants  longed 
to  have  a  share  of  the  commerce  of  India ;  and  as  the  Pope  had  assigned  the 
eastern  route  to  the  Portuguese  and  the  western  one  to  the  Spaniards,  they  re- 
solved to  ascertain  whether  a  third  and  shorter  way  to  the  Spice  Islands,  or  to 
the  fabulous  golden  regions  of  the  east,  might  not  be  found  by  steering  to  the 
north-west.  In  pursuance  of  these  views  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot  sailed  in 
149*7  from  Bristol,  at  that  tune  our  first  commercial  port,  and  discovered  the 
whole  American  coast  from  Labrador  to  Virginia.  They  failed  indeed  in  the 
object  of  their  mission,  but  they  laid  the  first  foundations  of  the  future  colonial 
greatness  of  England. 

A  second  voyage,  in  1498,  by  Sebastian  Cabot  alone,  without  the  companion- 
ship of  his  father,  had  no  important  results,  but  in  a  third  voyage  which  he 
undertook  in  search  of  a  north-west  passage,  at  Henry  VIII.'s  expense,  in  1516 
or  1517,  it  is  tolerably  certain  that  that  great  navigator  discovered  the  two 
straits  which  now  bear  the  names  of  Davis  and  LEudson. 

The  French  expeditions  of  Verazzani  (1523)  and  Jacques  Cartier  (1524), 
however  memorable  in  other  respects,  having  been  as  unsuccessful  as  those  of 
Cortereal  (1500)  or  Gomez  (1524)  in  discovering  the  desired  north-western  pas- 
sage, Sebastian  Cabot,  who  in  1549  was  created  Grand  Pilot  of  England,  start- 
ed in  his  old  age  another  idea,  which  has  become  almost  equally  momentous  in 


336  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

the  liistory  of  Arctic  discovery— the  search  for  a  north-eastern  route  to  China. 
Accordingly,  in  the  year  1553,  a  squadron  of  three  small  vessels,  under  the 
command  of  Sir  Hugh  Willoughby,  Chancellor,  and  Durfoorth,  set  sail  from 
Ratcliffe,  with  the  vain  hope  of  reaching  India  by  sailing  round  North  Asia, 
the  formation  and  vast  extent  of  which  were  at  that  time  totally  unknown. 

Off  Senjan,  an  island  on  the  Norwegian  coast  in  lat.  69^°,  the  ships  parted 
company  in  a  stormy  night,  never  to  meet  again.  Willoughby  and  Durfoorth 
reached  the  coast  of  Nova  Zembla,  and  ultimately  sought  a  harbor  in  Lap- 
land on  the  west  side  of  the  entrance  into  the  White  Sea,  where  the  captain- 
weneral,  officers,  and  crews  of  both  ships  were  miserably  frozen  to  death,  as  some 
Russian  fishermen  ascertained  in  the  following  spring.  How  long  they  sus- 
tained the  severity  of  the  weather  is  not  known,  but  the  journals  and  a  will 
found  on  board  the  "  Admiral "  proved  that  Sir  Hugh  Willoughby  and  most 
of  that  ship's  company  were  alive  in  January,  1554.  They  died  the  victims  of 
inexperience;  for  had  they, as  Sir  John  Richai'dson  remarks,  been  skilled  in 
hunting  and  clothing  themselves,  and  taken  the  precaution  moreover  of  laying 
in  at  the  beginning  of  the  winter  a  stock  of  mossy  turf  such  as  the  countiy 
produces  for  fuel,  and  above  all  had  they  secured  a  few  of  the  very  many  seals 
and  belugfe  which  abounded  in  the  sea  around  them,  they  might  have  preserved 
their  lives  and  passed  an  endurable  winter. 

Chancellor  was  either  more  fortunate  or  more,  skillful,  for  after  having  long 
been  buffeted  about  by  stormy  weather,  he  eventually  reached  St.  Nicholas,  in 
the  White  Sea.  From  thence  he  proceeded  overland  to  Moscow,  and  delivered 
his  credentials  to  the  Czar,  Ivan  Vasilovitch,  from  whom  he  obtained  many 
privileges  for  the  company  of  merchants  Avho  had  fitted  out  the  expedition.  In 
1554  he  returned  to  England,  and  shortly  afterwards  was  sent  back  to  Russia 
by  Queen  Mary  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating  a  treaty  of  commerce  between 
the  two  nations.  Having  satisfactorily  accomplished  his  mission,  he  once  more 
set  sail  from  the  White  Sea,  accompanied  by  a  Muscovite  ambassador.  But 
this  time  the  return  voyage  was  extremely  unfortunate,  for  Chancellor,  after 
losing  two  of  his  vessels  off  the  coast  of  Norway,  Avas  carried  by  a  violent  tem- 
pest into  the  Bay  of  Pitsligo,  in  Scotland,  where  his  ship  was  wrecked.  He  en- 
deavored to  save  the  ambassador  and  himself  in  a  boat,  but  the  small  pinnace 
was  upset ;  and  although  the  Russian  safely  reached  the  strand,  the  English- 
man, after  having  escaped  so  many  dangers  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  Avas  drowned 
within  sight  of  his  native  shores. 

In  lo5G  the  ]Muscovy  Company  fitted  out  the  Serchthrift  pinnace,  under  the 
command  of  Ste])hen  Burrough,  for  discovery  towards  the  River  Obi  and  farther 
search  for  a  north-east  passage.  This  small  vessel  reached  the  strait  between 
Nova  Zembla  and  Vaigats,  called  by  the  Russians  the  Kara  Gate,  but  the 
enormous  masses  of  ice  that  came  floating  through  the  channel  compelled  it  to 
return. 

In  spite  of  these  repeated  disappointments,  the  desire  to  discover  a  northern 
route  to  India  was  too  great  to  allow  an  enterprising  nation  like  the  English  to 
abandon  the  scheme  as  hopeless. 

Thus  in  the  days  of  Elizabeth  the  question  of  the  north-west  passage  was 


ARCTIC   VOYAGES   OF  DISCOVERY.  337 

again  revived,  and  Martin  Frobisher,  who  had  solicited  merchants  and  nobles 
during  fifteen  years  for  means  to  undertake  "  the  only  great  thing  left  undone  in 
the  world^''  sailed  in  the  year  1576  with  three  small  vessels  of  35,  30,  and  10  tons, 
on  no  less  an  errand  than  the  circumnavigation  of  Northern  America.  The 
reader  may  smile  at  the  ignorance  which  encouraged  such  efforts,  but  he  can 
not  fail  to  admii'e  the  iron-hearted  man  who  ventured  in  such  wretched  nutshells 
to  face  the  Arctic  seas.  The  expedition  safely  reached  the  coasts  of  Greenland 
and  Labrador,  and  brought  home  some  glittering  stones,  the  lustre  of  which 
was  erroneously  attributed  to  gold.  This  belief  so  inflamed  the  zeal  for  new 
expeditions  to  "  Meta  Incognita,"  as  Frobisher  had  named  the  coasts  he  had 
discovered,  that  he  found  no  difficulty  in  equipping  three  ships  of  a  much  larger 
size,  that  they  might  be  able  to  hold  more  of  the  anticipated  treasure.  At  the 
entrance  of  the  straits  which  still  bear  his  name,  he  was  prevented  by  the  gales 
and  drift-ice  from  forcing  a  passage  to  the  sea  beyond,  but  having  secured  about 
200  tons  of  the  supposed  golden  ore,  the  expedition  was  considered  eminently 
successful.  A  large  squadron  of  fifteen  vessels  was  consequently  fitted  out  in 
1578  for  a  third  voyage,  and  commissioned  not  only  to  bring  back  an  untold 
amount  of  treasure,  but  also  to  take  out  materials  and  men  to  establish  a  colony 
on  those  desolate  shores.  But  this  grand  expedition,  which  sailed  with  such 
extravagant  hopes,  was  to  end  in  disappointment.  One  of  the  largest  vessels 
w'as  crushed  by  an  iceberg  at  the  entrance  of  the  strait,  and  the  others  were  so 
beaten  about  by  storms  and  obstructed  by  fogs  that  they  were  at  length  glad 
to  return  to  England  without  haA'ing  done  any  thing  for  the  advancement  of 
geographical  knowledge.  The  utter  worthlessness  of  the  glittering  stones 
having  meanwhile  been  discovered,  Frobisher  relinquished  all  further  attempts 
to  push  his  fortunes  in  the  northern  regions,  and  sought  new  laui-els  in  a  sunnier 
clime.  He  accompanied  Drake  to  the  West  Indies,  commanded  subsequently 
Cne  of  the  largest  vessels  opposed  to  the  Spanish  Armada,  and  ended  his  heroic 
life  while  attacking  a  small  French  fort  in  behalf  of  Henry  IV.  during  the  war 
with  the  League. 

The  discovery  of  the  North-western  Passage  was,  however,  still  the  great 
enterprise  of  the  day,  and  thus  sundry  London  merchants  again  "  cast  in  their 
adventure,"  and  sent  out  John  Davis,  in  1585,  with  his  two  ships, "  Sunshine" 
and  "  Moonshine,"  carrying,  besides  their  more  necessary  equipments,  a  band 
of  music  "  to  cheer  and  recreate  the  spirits  of  the  natives."  Davis  arrived  in 
sight  of  the  south-western  coast  of  Greenland,  where  he  saw  a  high  mountain 
(Sukkertoppen)  towering  like  a  cone  of  silver  over  the  fog  which  veiled  the 
dismal  shore.  The  voyagers  were  glad  to  turn  from  the  gloomy  scene,  and  to 
steer  through  the  open  water  to  the  north-west,  where,  on  August  6,  they  dis- 
covered land  in  latitude  66°  40'  altogether  free  from  "the  pesters  of  ice,  and 
ankered  in  a  very  fair  rode."  A  friendly  understanding  was  established  with 
the  Esquimaux,  and  a  lively  traffic  opened,  the  natives  eagerly  giving  their 
skins  and  furs  for  beads  and  knives,  until  a  brisk  wind  separated  the  strange 
visitants  from  their  simple-minded  friends.  The  remainder  of  the  season  was 
spent  in  exploring  Cumberland  Sound  and  the  entrance  to  Frobisher's  and 
Hudson's  Straits. 

22 


338  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

In  the  following  year  Davis  undertook  a  second  voyage  to  the  north-Avest, 
for  which  the  "  Sunshine  "  and  "  Moonshine  "  were  again  engaged,  with  two 
other  vessels.  On  June  29,  1586,  he  landed  on  the  coast  of  Greenland,  in  lati- 
tude 64°,  and  soon  after  steered  to  the  west.  The  enormous  ice-floes  which,  as 
is  well  known,  come  drifting  from  Baffin's  Bay  until  the  season  is  far  advanced, 
opposed  his  progress.  For  some  days  he  coasted  these  floating  islands,  when  a 
fog  came  on,  during  which  ropes,  sails,  and  cordage  were  alike  fast  frozen,  and 
the  seamen,  hopeless  of  accomplishing  the  passage,  warned  their  commander 
that  "  by  his  over-boldness  he  might  cause  their  widows  and  fatherless  children 
to  give  him  bitter  curses." 

Touched  by  this  appeal,  Davis  ordered  two  of  his  ships  to  return  home,  and 
pushing  on  in  the  "Moonshine"  with  the  boldest  of  his  followers, "he  reached 
the  American  shore,  which  he  coasted  from  67°  to  57°  of  latitude.  Of£  the 
coast  of  Labrador  two  of  his  sailors  were  killed  by  the  natives,  and  September 
being  ushered  in  by  violent  gales,  he  gave  up  further  attempts  for  the  year,  and 
returned  to  England. 

On  June  16, 1587,  we  once  more  find  him  on  the  coast  of  Greenland,  in  his 
old  tried  bark  the  "  Svmshine,"  in  company  with  the  "  Elizabeth "  and  a  pin- 
nace. The  supplies  for  this  third  voyage  being  furnished  under  the  express 
condition  that  the  expenses  should  be  lightened  as  much  as  possible  by  fishing 
at  all  suitable  times,  the  two  larger  ships  were  stationed  for  the  purpose  near 
the  part  of  the  coast  which  they  had  formerly  visited,  w^hile  Davis  steered  for- 
Avard  in  the  small  and  ill-conditioned  vessel  which  alone  remained  at  his  dispo- 
sal. He  first  sailed  along  the  Greenland  coast  as  far  as  72°  lat.,  where,  having 
fairly  entered  Baffin's  Bay,  he  named  the  point  at  which  he  touched  Sander- 
son's Hope,  in  honor  of  his  chief  patron,  and  then  steered  to  the  west,  until  he 
once  more  fell  in  with  the  ice-barrier  which  had  prevented  his  progress  the 
year  before.  Time  and'perseverance,  however,  overcame  all  obstacles,  and  by 
July  19  he  had  crossed  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  strait  which  bears  his  name. 
He  then  sailed  for  two  days  up  Cumberland  Strait — which,  it  wall  be  remem- 
bered, he  discovered  on  his  first  expedition — but  believing  this  passage  to  be 
an  inclosed  gulf,  he  returned,  and  again  passing  the  entrance  to  Hudson's  Bay 
without  an  effort  to  investigate  it,  repaired  to  the  rendezvous  appointed  for  the 
two  whaling-vessels  to  meet  him  on  their  way  to  England.  But  who  can 
paint  his  astonishment  and  consternation  when  he  found  that  his  companions 
had  sailed  away,  leaving  him  to  find  his  way  home  in  his  miserable  pinnace, 
which,  however,  landed  him  safely  on  his  native  shores  ?  This  was  the  last  of 
the  Arctic  voyages  of  that  great  navigator,  for  the  spirit  of  the  nation  was 
chilled  by  his  three  successive  disappointments ;  and  all  the  zeal  with  which  he 
pleaded  for  a  fourth  expedition  proved  fruitless. 

He  subsequently  made  five  voyages  to  the  East  Indies,  and  was  killed  on 
December  27, 1605,  on  the  coast  of  Malacca,  in  a  fight  with  the  Malays. 

Seven  years  after  Davis's  last  Arctic  voyage  the  Dutch  made  their  first  ap- 
pearance on  the  scene  of  northern  discovery.  This  persevering  people  had  just 
then  succeeded  in  casting  off  the  Spanish  yoke,  and  was  now  striving  to  gain, 
by  the  development  of  his  maritime  trade,  a  position  among  the  neighboring 


ARCTIC   VOYAGES   OF  DISCOVERY.  339 

states,  which  the  smalhiess  of  its  territory  seemed  to  deny  to  it.  All  the 
known  avenues  to  the  treasiires  of  the  south  were  at  that  time  too  well  guard- 
ed by  the  fleets  of  Portugal  and  Spain  to  admit  of  any  rivalry ;  but  if  fortune 
favored  them  in  finding  the  yet  unexplored  northern  passage  to  India,  they 
might  still  hope  to  secure  a  lion's  share  in  that  most  lucrative  of  trades. 

Animated  by  this  laudable  spirit  of  enterprise,  the  merchants  of  Amster- 
dam, Enkhuizen,  and  Middelburg  fitted  out  in  1594  an  expedition  in  quest  of 
the  north-eastern  passage,  which  they  intrusted  to  the  command  of  Cornelius 
Corneliszoon,  Brant  Ysbrantzoon,  and  William  Barentz,  one  of  the  most  ex- 
perienced seamen  of  the  day.  The  three  vessels  sailed  from  the  Texel  on  June 
6,  and  having  reached  the  coast  of  Lapland,  separated  into  two  divisions ; 
Barentz  choosing  the  bolder  course  of  coasting  the  west  side  of  Nova  Zem- 
bla  as  far  as  the  islands  of  Orange,  the  most  northerly  points  of  the  archipel- 
ago ;  while  his  less  adventur.ous  comrades  were  contented  to  sail  along  the 
Russian  coast  until  they  reached  a  strait,  to  which  they  gave  the  very  appro- 
priate name  of  Vaigats,  or  "  Wind-hole."  Forcing  their  way  through  the  ice, 
which  almost  constantly  blocks  up  the  entrance  to  the  Kara  Sea,  they  saw,  on 
rounding  a  promontory  at  the  other  end  of  the  strait,  a  clear  expanse  of  blue 
open  sea,  stretching  onward  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  while  the  continent 
trended  away  rapidly  towards  the  south-east.  They  now  no  longer  doubted 
that  they  had  sailed  round  the  famous  Cape  Tabin — a  fabulous  headland,  which, 
according  to  Pliny  (an  indisputable  authority  in  those  times  of  geographical 
ignorance),  formed  the  northern  extremity  of  Asia,  from  whence  the  voyage 
was  supposed  to  be  easy  to  its  eastern  and  southern  shores.  Little  did  Brant 
and  Cornelius  dream  that  within  the  Arctic  Circle  ■  the  Asiatic  coast  still 
stretched  120°  to  the  east ;  and  fully  trusting  their  erroneous  impressions,  they 
started  in  full  sail  for  Holland,  eager  to  bring  to  their  countrymen  the  news  of 
their  imaginary  success.  Off  Russian  Lapland  they  fell  in  with  Barentz,  who,  , 
having  arrived  at  the  northern  extremity  of  Nova  Zembla — a  higher  latitude 
than  any  navigator  is  recorded  to  have  reached  before — had  turned  back  be- 
fore strong  opposing  winds  and  floating  ice,  and  the  three  vessels  returned  to- 
gether to  Texel. 

Such  were  the  hopes  raised  by  the  discovery  of  the  imaginary  Cape  Tabin 
that,  losing  sight  of  their  habitual  caution,  the  merchants  of  Middelburg,  Enk- 
huizen, Rotterdam,  and  Amsterdam  immediately  fitted  out  a  fleet  of  six  ships, 
laden  with  all  sorts  of  merchandise  fit  for  the  Indian  market.  A  little  yacht 
was  added,  which  was  to  accompany  the  fleet  as  far  as  that  promontory,  and 
thence  to  return  with  the  good  news  that  the  squadron  had  been  left  steering 
with  a  favorable  wind  right  off  to  India,  But,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  these 
sanguine  hopes,  built  on  the  unsubstantial  fabric  of  a  vision,  were  doomed  to  a 
woful  disappointment,  for  the  "  Wind-hole  Strait,"  doing  full  justice  to  its 
name,  did  not  allow  the  vessels  to  pass ;  and  after  fruitless  efforts  to  force 
their  way  through  the  ice-blocks  which  obstructed  that  inhospitable  channel, 
they  returned  crestfallen  to  the  port  whence  they  had  sailed  a  few  months  be- 
fore with  such  brilliant  expectations. 

Although  great  disappointment  was  felt  at  this  failure,  the  scheme  of  sailing 


040  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

round  Cape  Tabin  to  India  was,  however,  not  abandoned  by  the  persevering 
Amsterdamers  ;  and,  on  May  16,  1596,  Heemskerk,  Barentz,  and  Cornelis  Ryp 
once  more  started  for  the  north-east.  Bear  Island  and  Spitzbergen  were  dis- 
covered, wlicreupon  the  ships  separated,  Cornelis  and  Heemskerk  returning 
to  Holland,  while  Barentz,  slowly  making  his  way  through  the  fog  and  ice,  ad- 
vanced to  the  most  nortiiern  point  of  Nova  Zenibla,  the  crew  being  encouraged 
by  the  tidings  that  from  the  high  cliffs  of  Orange  Island  clear  open  water  had 
been  seen  to  the  south-east.  The  effort  to  reach  this  inviting  channel  was  frus- 
trated by  the  ice,  which  gathered  about  the  ship  as  it  lay  near  shore,  and  grad- 
ually collecting  under  and  around  it,  raised  it  far  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
All  hope  of  return  before  the  next  summer  now  vanished,  but  these  brave 
sailors  submitted  with  resignatioij  to  their  fate,  "  though  much  grieved,"  says 
Gerrit  de  Veer,  who  was  himself  an  eye-witness  of  all  the  incidents  he  relates, 
"  to  live  there  all  that  cold  winter,  which  we  knew  would  fall  out  to  be  ex- 
tremely bittef.""  Fortunately  a  quantity  of  drift-wood  was  found  on  the  strand, 
which  served  the  Dutchmen  both  for  the  construction  of  a  small  hut  and  for 
fuel. 

As  early  as  September  the  ground  was.  frozen  so  hard  that  they  tried  in 
vain  to  dig  a  grave  for  a  dead  comrade,  and  their  cramped  fingers  could  hardly 
build  the  hut,  which  was  the  more  necessary,  as  the  vessel,  cracking  under  the 
pressure  of  the  ice,  gave  signs  of  speedily  breaking  up  altogether.  By  the  middle 
of  October  the  rude  dwelling  was  completed,  and  though  its  accommodation  was 
scanty,  they  were  glad  to  take  up  their  abode  in  it  at  once.  The  best  place  by 
the  central  fire  was  assigned  to  a  sick  comrade,  while  all  the  rest  arranged 
their  beds  as  best  they  could  on  shelves  which  had  been  built  round  the  walls. 
An  examination  into  the  state  of  their  provisions  showed  the  necessity  of  re- 
ducing their  daily  rations  of  bread,  cheese,  and  wine,  but  by  setting  traps  they 
caught  a  good  many  Arctic  foxes,  which  gave  them  an  occasional  supply  of 
fresh  food.  The  sun  had  now  entirely  taken  his  departure,  and  the  long  winter 
night  of  the  V5°  43'  of  latitude  set  in,  during  wdiicli  snowdrifts  and  impetuous 
winds  confined  them  to  their  miserable  hut. 

"  We  looked  pitifully  one  upon  the  other,"  says  De  Veer,  "  being  in  great 
fear  that  if  the  extremity  of  the  cold  grew  to  be  more  and  more,  we  should  all 
die  there  of  cold,  for  that  what  fire  soever  we  made  would  not  warm  us." 

The  ice  was  now  two  inches  thick  upon  the  walls,  and  even  on  the  sides  of 
their  sleeping  cots  and  the  very  clothes  they  wore  were  Avhitened  with  frost. 
Yet  in  the  midst  of  all  their  sufferings  these  brave  men  maintained  cheerful 
hearts ;  and  so  great  was  their  elasticity  of  spirit  that,  remembering  January  5 
was  Twelfth  Eve,  they  resolved  to  celebrate  it  as  best  they  might.  "  And  then," 
says  the  old  chronicler,  "  we  prayed  our  Maister  that  we  might  be  merry  that 
night,  and  said  that  we  were  content  to  spend  some  of  the'  wine  that  night 
which  we  had  spared,  and  which  was  our  share  (one  glass)  every  second  day, 
and  whereof  for  certaine  days  w^e  had  not  dranke,  and  so  that  night  we  made 
merry  and  drew  for  king.  And  therewith  we  had  two  pounds  of  meal,  where- 
of we  made  pancakes  with  oyle,  and  every  man  had  a  white  biscuit  which  Ave 
sopt  in  the  wine.     And  so  supposing  that  we  were  in  our  owne  country  and 


ARCTIC  VOYAGES   OF  DISCOVERY.  341 

amongst  our  friends,  it  comforted  us  well  as  if  we  had  made  a  great  banquet 
in  our  owne  house.  And  we  also  made  trinkets,  and  our  gunner  was  king  of 
Novaya  Zemlya,  which  is  at  least  800  miles  long  and  lyeth  between  two  seas." 

On  January  24  the  edge  of  the  sun  appeared  above  the  horizon,  and  the 
sight  was  a  joyful  one  indeed.  Now  also  the  furious  snow-storm  ceased,  and 
though  the  severity  of  the  cold  continued  unabated,  they  were  better  able  to 
brave  the  outer  air  and  to  recruit  their  strength  by  exercise.  With  the  re- 
turn of  daylight  the  bears  came  again  about  the  house,  and  some  being  shot,  af- 
forded a  very  seasonable  supply  of  grease,  so  that  they  were  able  to  burn  lamps 
and  pass  the  time  in  reading. 

When  summer  returned  it  was  found  impossible  to  disengage  the  ice-bound 
vessel,  and  the  only  hopes  of  escaping  from  this  dreary  prison  now  rested  on 
two  small  boats,  in  which  they  finally  quitted  the  scene  of  so  much  suffering 
on  June  14,  1596,  On  the  fourth  day  of  their  voyage  their  barks  became 
surrounded  by  enormous  masses  of  floating  ice,  which  so  crushed  and  injured 
them  that  the  crews,  giving  up  all  hope,  took  a  solemn  leave  of  each  other. 
But  in  this  desperate  crisis  they  owed  their  preservation  to  the  presence  of 
mind  and  agility  of  De  Veer,  who,  with  a  well-secured  rope,  leaped  from  one 
ice -block  to  another  till  he  reached  a  larger  floe,  on  which  first  the  sick,  then 
the  stores,  the  crews,  and  finally  the  boats  themselves  were  fairly  landed.  Here 
they  were  obliged  to  remain  while  the  boats  underwent  the  necessary  repairs, 
and  during  this  detention  upon  a  floating  ice  raft  the  gallant  Barentz  closed  the 
eventful  voyage  of  his  life.  He  died  as  he  had  lived,  calmly  and  bravely,  think- 
ing less  of  himself  than  of  the  welfare  of  his  fellow-sufferers,  for  his  last  words 
were  directions  as  to  the  course  in  which  they  were  to  steer.  His  death  was 
bitterly  mourned  by  the  rougb  men  under  his  command,  and  even  the  prospect 
of  a  return  to  their  homes  could  not  console  them  for  the  loss  of  their  beloved 
leader.  After  a  most  tedious  passage  (for  by  July  28  they  had  only  reached 
the  southern  extremity  of  Nova  Zembla)  they  at  length,  at  the  end  of  August, 
arrived  at  Kola,  in  Russian  Lapland,  where,  to  their  glad  surprise,  they  found 
their  old  comrade,  John  Cornelison  Ryp,  with  whom  they  returned  to  Am- 
sterdam. 

Meanwhile  the  spirit  of  discovery  had  once  more  recovered  in  England  from 
the  chill  thrown  upon  it  by  so  many  previous  disappointments.  In  1602,  Wey- 
mouth, while  attempting  to  sail  up  the  promising  inlet,  now  so  well-known  as 
the  entrance  to  Hudson's  Bay,  Avas' repulsed  by  a  violent  storm,  and  in  1606  a 
melancholy  issue  awaited  the  next  expedition  to  the  north-west,  which  sailed 
under  the  command  of  John  Knight,  a  brave  and  experienced  sailor.  D^-iven 
by  stormy  weather  among  the  drift-ice  on  the  coast*'^of  Labrador,  Knight  was 
fain  to  take  shelter  in  the  first  cove  that  presented  itself,  and  lost  no  time  in  or- 
dering his  damaged  ship  of  forty  tons  to  be  drawn  high  up  on  the  dry  sand  be- 
yond the  tide  mark,  where  she  might  undergo  the  necessary  repairs. 

This  position,  however,  not  proving  satisfactory,  he  manned  his  boat  next 
day,  and  while  the  rest  of  the  crew  were  busy  at  work,  sailed  across  to  the 
other  side  of  the  inlet  to  seek  for  some  more  convenient  anchorage.  Leaving 
two  men  in  charge  of  the  boat,  he  landed  with  his  mate  and  three  of  his  men  to 


342  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

explore  the  stranixe  coast.  They  climbed  the  steep  acclivity  of  the  shore,  lin- 
gered for  a  moment  ou  the  smiimit  of  the  cliffs,  and  before  disappearing  on  the 
other  side  exchanged  greetings  of  farewell  with  their  messmates  in  the  boat, 
who  little  imagined  that  it  was  a  parting  forever.  Evening  came  on,  and  then 
darkened  into  night ;  muskets  were  fired  and  trumpets  sounded,  but  no  answer 
was  made,  and  eSven  o'clock  arriving  without  any  sign  or  signal  of  the  missing 
party,  the  men  who  had  tarried  on  shore  mournfully  returned  to  the  ship  with 
the  dismal  tidings  of  the  loss  of  their  brave  commander  and  his  comrades. 

During  this  melancholy  night,  passed  in  alternate  lamentations  andi^lans  for 
search  and  rescue,  the  ice  had  so  accumulated  in  the  channel  Avhich  the  unfor- 
tunate Knight  crossed  the  day  before,  that  though  the  boat  was  speedily  rigged 
for  the  expedition,  and  the  party  who  occupied  it  were  one  and  all  uncontrolla- 
bly eager  to  start,  the  morning  light  convinced  the  most  sanguine  of  the  utter 
impossibility  of  forcing  their  way  across  the  gulf.  Thus  passed  two  wretched 
days  of  uncertainty,  rendered  doubly  miserable  by  the  inactivity  to  which  they 
were  condemned,  when  on  the  night  of  the  second  day  the  little  encampment 
was  attacked  by  a  large  party  of  natives,  whose  hostility  left  no  doubt  about 
the  fate  which  had  befallen  their  missing  friends.  A  volley  of  musketry  soon 
dispersed  the  savages,  but  fearing  future  attacks,  the  crew,  now  only  eight  in 
number,  at  once  resolved  to  put  to  sea  in  their  crazy  bark,  which,  though  de- 
prived of  its  rudder,  and  so  leaky  that  the  pumps  were  obliged  to  be  constantly 
at  work,  safely  carried  them  to  Newfoundland. 

In  the  year  1607  Henry  Hudson  made  the  first  attempt  to  sail  across  the 
North  Pole,  a  plan  started  in  1527  by  Robert  Thorne,but  not  yet  acted  upon 
by  any  one  during  the  eighty  years  that  had  since  passed.  He  reached  the  east 
coast  of  Greenland  in  73°  of  latitude,  and  then  proceeded  to  the  northern  ex- 
tremity of  Spitzbergen,  but  all  his  efforts  to  launch  forth  into  the  unknown 
ocean  beyond  were  baffled  by  the  ice-fields  that  opposed  his  progress. 

In  his  next  voyage  (1608)  he  vainly  tried  for  the  north-east  passage,  but  his 
third  voyage  (1609),  which  he  performed  in  the  service  of  the  Dutch,  led  to  the 
discovery  of  the  magnificent  river  which  still  bears  his  name,  and  at  whose 
mouth  tile  "  Empire  City  "  of  the  great  American  republic  has  arisen. 

In  April,  1610,  we  find  him  setting  sail  on  the  last  and  most  celebrated  of 
his  voyages.  In  all  but  its  commander,  this  expedition  was  miserably  inade- 
quate to  the  object  of  its  mission,  for  it  consisted  only  of  one  vessel  of  fifty-five 
tons  provisioned  for  six  months,  and  manned  by  a  crew  who  speedily  proved 
themselves  to  be  utterly  unworthy  of  their  leader.  On  entering  Hudson's 
Straits,  the  large  masses  of  ice  which  encumbered  the  surface  of  the  water  and 
the  thickness  of  the  constant  fogs  made  them  lose  all  courage,  and  they  earnest- 
ly begged  their  commander  to  return  at  once  to  England.  But  Hudson  pressed 
on  until  at  last  his  little  bark  emerged  into  a  vast  open  water  rippling  and 
sparkling  in  the  morning  sunshine.  Hudson's  Bay  expanded  before  him,  and 
the  enraptured  discoverer  was  fully  convinced  that  the  north-western  route  to 
India  now  lay  open  to  the  mariners  of  England. 

It  was  the  beginning  of  August,  and  the  dastardly  crew  considering  the  pas- 
sage effected,  urged  an  immediate  return ;  but  Hudson  was  determined  on 


ARCTIC  VOYAGES   OF  DISCOVERY.  343 

completing  the  adventure,  and  wintering,  if  possible,  on  the  sunny  shores  of 
India.  For  three  months  he  continued  tracking  the  south  coasts'  of  that  vast 
northern  Mediterranean,  but  all  his  hopes  of  finding  a  new  channel  opening  to 
the  south  proved  vain,  until  at  length  the  ship  was  frozen  in  on  November  10 
in  the  south-east  corner  of  James's  Bay.  A  dreary  winter  awaited  the  ice-bound 
seamen,  with  almost  exhausted  provisions,  and  unfortunately  without  that 
heroic  patience  and  concord  which  had  sustained  the  courage  of  Barentz  and 
his  companions  under  trials  far  more  severe.  But  spring  came  at  last,  and 
revived  the  spirits  of  their  leader.  His  ship  was  once  more  afloat,  once  more 
his  fancy  indulged  in  visions  of  the  sunny  East,  when,  as  he  stepped  on  deck  on 
the  morning  of  June  21,  his  arms  were  suddenly  pinioned,  and  he  found  him- 
self in  the  power  of  three  of  his  men. 

Inquiry,  remonstrance,  entreaty,  command,  all  failed  to  draw  a  word  fi-om 
the  stubborn  mutineers,  and  Hudson  resigned  himself  bravely  to  his  fate,  and, 
with  the  quiet  dignity  of  a  noble  nature,  looked  on  calmly  at  the  ominous  prep- 
arations going  forward.  A  small  open  boat  was  in  waiting,  and  into  this 
Hudson — his  hands  being  previously  tied  behind  his  back — was  lowered  ;  some 
powder  and  shot  and  the  carpenter's  box  came  next,  folloAved  by  the  carpenter 
himself,  John  King,  whose  name  ought  to  be  held  in  honorable  remembrance, 
as  hp  alone  among  the  crew  remained  true  to  his  master.  Six  invalids  were 
also  forced  into  the  boat,  which  was  then  cut  adrift,  and  the  vessel  sailed  on- 
ward on  its  homeward  course.  Nothing  more  was  ever  heard  of  Hudson; 
but  the  ringleaders  of  that  dark  conspiracy  soon  paid  a  terrible  penalty.  Some 
fell  in  a  fight  with  the  Esquimaux,  and  others  died  on  the  homeward  voyage, 
during  which  they  suffered  from  the  extremest  famine. 

The  account  of  the  great  expanse  of  sea  which  had  been  reached  gave  new 
vigor  to  the  spirit  of  discovery,  and  new  expeditions  sallied  forth  (Sir  Thomas 
Button,  1612,  Gibbons,  1614,  Bylot,  1615),  to  seek  along  the  western  shores  of 
Hudson's  Bay  the  passage  which  was  to  open  the  way  to  India.  All  efforts  in 
this  direction  were  of  cotirse  doomed  to  disappointment,  but  Baffin,  who  sailed 
in  1616,  with  directions  to  try  his  fortune  beyond  Davis's  Straits,  enriched 
geography  with  a  new  and  important  conquest  by  sailing  round  the  enormous 
bay  which  still  bears  his  name.  During  this  voyage  he  discovered  the  en- 
trances of  Smith's,  Jones's,  and  Lancaster  Sounds,  without  attempting  to  inves- 
tigate these  broad  highways  to  fields  of  later  exploration.  He  believed  them 
to  be  mere  inclosed  gulfs,  and  this  behef  became  so  firmly  grounded  in  the 
public  mind  that  two  full  centuries  elapsed  before  any  new  attempt  was  made 
to  seek  for  a  western  passage  in  this  direction,  while  Jens  Munk,  a  Dane,  sent 
out  in  1619  with  two  good  vessels,  under  the  patronage  of  his  king,  Christian 
IV. ;  Fox  and  James  (1631-1632),  Knight  and  Barlow  (1719),  Middleton  (1741), 
Moor  and  Smith  (1746),  confined  their  efforts  to  Hudson's  Bay,  and,  by  their 
repeated  disappointments,  made  all  expeditions  in  quest  of  a  north-western 
passage  appear  well-nigh  as  chimerical  as  those  of  tlie  knight-errants  of 
romance. 


344  THE  POLAR   WORLD. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

AUCTIC  VOYAGES  OF  DISCOVERY,  FROM  BAFFIN  TO  M'CLINTOCK. 

BuclKin  and  Franklin.— Ross  and  Parry  (1818).— Discovery  of  Melville  Island.— Winter  Harbor  (1819- 
li*20). —  Franklin's  first  land  Journey. —  Dreadful  Sufferings. —  Parry's  second  Voyage  (1821-1823). 
—  Iligliuk. —  Lyon  (1824). —  Parry's  third  Voyage  (1824). — Franklin's  second  land  Journej'  to  the 
Shores  of  the  Polar  Sea. — Beechey. — Parry's  sledge  Journey  towards  the  Pole. — Sir  John  Ross's 
seCond  Journey. — Five  Years  in  the  Arctic  Ocean. — Back's  Discovery  of  Great  Fish  River. — Dease 
and  Simpson  (1837-1839).— Franklin  and  Crozier's  L-jst  Voyage  (1845).— Searching  Expeditions. — 
Richardson  and  Rae.— Sir  James  Ross. — Austin. — Penny.— De  Haven. — Franklin's  first  Winter- 
quarters  discovered  by  Ommanej'. — Kennedy  and  Bellot. — Inglefield. — Sir  E.  Belcher. — Sellett. — 
M'Clure's  Discovery  of  the  North-west  Passage. — Collinson. — Bellot's  Death. — Dr.  Rae  learns  the 
Death  of  the  Crews  of  the  ''  Erebus"  and  "  Terror." — Sir  Leopold  M'Clintock. 

^T^HE  failure  of  Captain  Pliipps  (afterwards  Lord  Mulgrave)  in  the  Spitzbor- 
-■-  gen  seas  (XllS),  and  that  of  the  illustrious  Cook  (I'ZVG),  in  his  attempt  to 
circumnavigate  the  northern  shores  of  America  or  Asia  by  way  of  the  Straits  of 
Bering,  entirely  damped,  for  the  next  forty  years,  the  spirit  of  Arctic  discov- 
ery ;  but  hope  revived  Avhen  it  became  known  that  Captain  Scoresby,  on  a  whal- 
ing expedition  in  the  Greenland  seas  (1806),  had  attained  81°  30'  N,  lat.,  and 
thus  approached  the  pole  to  within  540  miles.  No  previous  navigator  had 
ever  reached  so  far  to  the  north ;  an  open  sea  lay  temptingly  before  him,  and 
the  absence  of  the  ice-blink  proved  that  for  miles  beyond  the  visible  horizon  no 
ice-field  or  snow-covered  land  opposed  his  onwai'd  course;  but  as  the  object  of 
Scoresby's  voyage  was  strictly  commercial,  and  he  himself  answerable  to  the 
owners  of  his  vessel,  he  felt  obliged  to  sacrifice  his  inclinations  to  his  duty,  and 
to  steer  again  to  the  south. 

During  the  Continental  war,  indeed,  England  had  but  little  leisure  to  prose- 
cute discoveries  in  the  Arctic  Ocean  ;  but  not  long  after  the  conclusion  of  peace, 
four  stout  vessels  (1818)  were  sent  out  on  that  mission  by  Government.  Two 
of  these,  the  "  Dorothea,"  Captain  Buchan,  and  the  "  Trent,"  Commander  Lieu- 
tenant John  Franklin,  were  destined  to  proceed  northward  by  way  of  Spitzber- 
gen,  and  to  endeavor  to  cross  the  Polar  Sea.  After  unnumbered  difficulties,  the 
expedition  Avas  batthng  with  the  ice  to  the  north-west  of  that  Avintry  archipela- 
go, when,  on  July  30,  a  sudden  gale  compelled  the  commander,  as  the  only 
chance  of  safety,  to  "  take  the  ice  " — that  is,  to  thrust  the  ships  into  an  opening 
among  the  moving  masses  that  could  be  perceived.  In  this  very  hazardous  op- 
eration, the  "Dorothea" — having  received  so  much  injury  that  she  was  in  dan- 
ger of  sinking — was  therefore  turned  homeward  as  soon  as  the  storm  subsided, 
and  the  " Trent"  of  necessity  accompanied  her. 

The  other  two  ships,  which  sailed  in  the  same  year,  the  "  Isabella,"  command- 
ed by  Captain  John  Ross,  and  the  "Alexander,"  by  Lieutenant  William  Ed- 
ward Parry,  had  been  ordered  to  proceed  up  tlie  middle  of  Davis's  Strait  to  u 


ARCTIC   VOYAGES,  FROM  BAFFIN  TO  M'CLINTOCK.  Sir, 

high  northern  latitude,  and  then  to  stretch  across  to  the  westward,  in  the  hope 
of  being  able  to  pass  the  northern  extremity  of  America,  and  reach  Bering's 
Strait  by  that  route.  As  respects  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  sent  out,  this 
expedition  likewise  ended  in  disappointment ;  for  though  Ross  defined  more 
clearly  the  Greenland  coast  to  the  north  of  the  Danish  possessions  between 
Cape  Melville  and  Smith's  Sound,  he  was  satisfied  with  making  a  very  cursory 
examination  of  all  the  great  channels  leading  from  Baffin's  Bay  into  the  Polar 
Sea.  After  sailing  for  some  little  distance  up  Lancaster  Sound,  he  was  arrest- 
ed by  the  atmospheric  deception  of  a  range  of  mountains,  extending  right 
across  the  passage,  and  concluding  it  useless  to  persevere,  he  at  once — to  the 
great  astonishment  and  mortification  of  his  oflicers — abandoned  a  course  whicli 
was  to  render  his  successor  illustrious.  As  may  easily  be  imagined,  the  man- 
ner in  which  Ross  had  conducted  this  expedition  failed  to  satisfy  the  authori- 
ties at  home ;  and  thus,  in  the  following  year,  the  "  Hecla  "  and  "  Griper  "  were 
commissioned  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the  sound,  whose  entrance  only  had 
been  seen  by  Baffin  and  Ross.  The  former  ship  was  placed  under  the  Com- 
mand of  Parry,  and  the  latter  under  that  of  Lieutenant  Matthew  Liddon. 

With  this  brilliant  voyage,  the  epoch  of  modern  discoveries  in  the  Arctic 
Ocean  may  properly  be  said  to  begin.  Sailing  right  through  Lancaster  Sound, 
over  the  site  of  Ross's  imaginary  Croker  Mountains,  Parry  passed  Barrow's 
Strait,- and  after  exploring  Prince  Regent  Inlet,  whence  the  ice  compelled 
him  to  return  to  the  main  channel,  he  discovered  Wellington  Channel  (August 
22),  and  soon  after  had  the  satisfaction  of  announcing  to  his  men  that,  having 
reached  110°  W.  long.,  they  were  entitled  to  the  king's  bounty  of  £5000,  se- 
cured by  order  of  council  to  '''such  of  His  Majesty's  subjects  as  might  succeed 
in  penetrating  thus  far  to  the  west  within  the  Arctic  Circle."  After  passing  and 
naming  Melville  Island,  a  little  progress  was  still  made  westward ;  but  the  ice 
was  now  rapidly  gathering,  the  vessels  were  soon  beset,  and,  after  getting  free 
with  great  difficulty.  Parry  was  only  too  glad  to  turn  back  and  settle  down  in 
Winter  Harbor.  It  was  no  easy  task  to  attain  this  dreary  port,  as  a  canal,  two 
miles  and  a  third  in  length,  had  first  to  be  cut  through  solid  ice  of  seven  inches 
average  thickness ;  yet  such  Avas  the  energy  of  the  men  that  tfie  herculean 
labor  was  executed  in  three  days.  The  two  vessels  were  immediately  unrigged, 
the  decks  housed  over,  a  heating  apparatus  arranged,  and  every  thing  made  as 
comfortable  as  possible.  To  relieve  the  monotony  of  the  long  winter's  night, 
plays  were  acted  every  fortnight,  a  school  established,  and  a  newspaper  set  on 
foot — certainly  the  first  periodical  ever  issued  in  so  high  a  latitude.  During 
the  day  the  men  were  employed  for  exercise  in  banking  up  the  ships  with  snow 
or  making  excursions  within  a  certain  distance;  and  when  the  weather  forbade 
their  leaving  shelter,  they  were  obliged  to  run  round  the  decks  to  the  tune  of  a 
barrel-organ. 

In  January  the  cold  became  more  and  more  intense.  On  the  12th  it  was 
51°  below  zero  in  the  open  air,  and  on  the  14th  the  thermometer  fell  to  54°. 
On  February  24  a  fire  broke  out  in  a  small  house  which  had  been  built  near 
the  ships,  to  serve  as  an  observatory  for  Captain  Sabine,  who  accompanied  the 
expedition  as  astronomer.      All  hands  rushed  to  the  spot  to  endeavor  to  sub- 


346  THE  POLAE  WORLD. 

due  the  flames,  but  having  only  snow  to  throw  on  it,  it  was  found  impossible  to 
extinguish  it.  The  snow,  however,  covered  the  astronomical  instruments,  and 
secured  them  from  the  fire.  The  thermometer  was  at  the  time  44°  below  zero, 
and  the  faces  of  nearly  the  whole  party  grew  white  and'  frost-bitten  after  five 
minutes'  exposure,  so  that  the  surgeon  and  two  or  three  assistants  were  busily 
employed  in  rubbing  the  faces  of  their  comrades  with  snow,  while  the  latter 
were  working  might  and  main  to  extinguish  the  flames.  One  poor  fellow,  in 
his  anxiety  to  save  the  dipping-needle,  carried  it  out  without  putting  on  his 
gloves ;  his  hands  were  so  benumbed  in  consequence,  that  when  plunged  into  a 
basin  of  cold  water  it  instantly  froze,  from  the  intense  coldness  imparted  to  it, 
and  it  was  found  necessary  to  resort,  some  time  after,  to  the  amputation  of  a 
part  of  four  fingers  on  one  hand  and  three  on  the  other. 

February  3  was  a  memorable  day — the  sun  being  visible  from  the  maintop 
of  the  "Ilecla,"  from  whence  it  was  last  seen  on  November  11.  The  weather 
got  considerably  milder  in  March ;  on  the  6th  the  thermometer  rose  to  zero, 
for  the  first  time  since  December  11,  and  on  April  30  it  stood  at  the  freezing- 
point,  Avhich  it  had  not  done  since  September  12. 

At  length  May  appeai-ed,  bringhig  the  long  summer's  day  of  the  high  north- 
ern latitudes ;  but  as  many  a  week  must  still  pass  before  the  vessels  could  move 
out  of  their  ice-bound  harbor.  Parry  started  on  June  1  to  explore  the  interior 
of  the  island,  which  at  this  early  period  of  the  season  still  wore  a  very  dreai'y 
aspect.  But  such  was  the  rapidity  of  vegetation,  that  by  the  end  of  the  month 
the  land,  now  completely  clear  of  snow,  was  covered  with  the  purple-colored 
saxifrage  in  blossom,  with  mosses,  and  with  sorrel,  and  the  grass  was  from  two 
to  three  inches  long.  The  pasturage  appeared  to  be  excellent  in  the  valleys, 
and,  to  judge  by  the  numerous  tracks  of  musk-oxen  and  reindeer,  there  was  no 
lack  of  animals  to  enjoy  its  abundance. 

It  was  not  before  August  1  that  the  ships  were  released  from  their  ten 
months'  blockade  in  Winter  Harbor,  when  Parry  once  more  stood  boldly  for 
the  west ;  but  no  amount  of  skill  or  patience  could  penetrate  the  obstinate  mass- 
es of  ice  that  blocked  the  passage,  or  insure  the  safety  of  the  vessels  under  the 
repeated  shocks  sustained  from  them.  Finding  the  barriers  insuperable,  he 
gave  way,  and  steering  homcAvard,  reached  London  on  November  3,  1820, 
where,  as  may  well  be  imagined,  his  reception  was  most  enthusiastic. 

While  Parry  was  engaged  on  this  wonderful  voyage,  Lieutenant  Franklin 
and  Dr.  Richardson,  accompanied  by  two  midshipmen,  George  Back  and  Robert 
Hood,  and  a  sailor,  John  Hepburn,  to  whom  were  added  during  the  course  of 
the  journey  a  troop  of  Canadians  and  Indians,  were  penetrating  by  land  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Coppermine  River  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the  unexplored 
shores  of  the  Polar  Sea  to  the  east.  An  idea  of  the  diificulties  of  this  under- 
taking may  be  formed,  when  I  mention  that  the  travellers  started  from  Fort 
York,  Hudson's  Bay,  on  August  30, 1819,  and  after  a  boat  voyage  of  700  miles 
up  the  Saskatchewan  arrived  before  winter  at  Fort  Cumberland,  The  next 
winter  found  them  700  miles  farther  on  their  journey,  established  during  the 
extreme  cold  at  Fort  Enterprise,  as  they  called  a  log-house  built  by  them  on 
Winter  Lake,  whore  they  spent  ten  months,  depending  upon  fishing  and  the 


ARCTIC   VOYAGES,  FROM  BAFFIN  TO  M'CLINTOCK.  347 

success  of  their  Indian  hunters.  During  the  summer  of  1821  they  accom- 
plished the  remaining  334  miles  to  the  mouth  of  the  Coppermine,  and  on  July 
21  Franklin  and  his  party  embarked  in  two  birch-bark  canoes  on  their  voyage 
of  exploration.  In  these  frail  shallops  they  skirted  the  desolate  coast  of  the 
American  continent  555  miles  to  the  east  of  the  Coppermine  as  far  as  Point 
Turnagain,  when  the  rapid  decrease  of  their  provisions  and  the  shattered  state 
of  the  canoes  imperatively  compelled  their  return  (August  22).  And  now 
began  a  dreadful  land-journey  of  two  months,  accompanied  by  all  the  horrors 
of  cold,  famine,  and  fatigue.  An  esculent  lichen  (tripe  de  roche),  with  an  occa- 
sional ptarmigan,  formed  their  scanty  food,  but  on  very  many  days  even  this 
poor  supply  could  not  be  obtained,  and  their  appetites  became  ravenous.  Some- 
times they  had  the  good-fortune  to  pick  up  pieces  of  skin,  and  a  few  bones  of 
deer  which  had  been  devoured  by  the  wolves  in  the  previous  spring.  The  bones 
were  rendered  friable  by  burning,  and  now  and  then  their  old  shoes  were  added 
to  the  repast.  On  reaching  the  Coppermine,  a  raft  had  to  be  framed,  a  task 
accomplished  with  the  utmost  difficulty  by  the  exhausted  party.  One  or  two 
of  tlie  Canadians  had  already  fallen  behind,  and  never  rejoined  their  comrades, 
and  now  Hood  and  three  or  four  more  of  the  party  broke  down  and  could 
proceed  no  farther,  Dr.  Richardson  kindly  volunteering  to  remain  with  them, 
wliile  Back,  w^ith  the  most  vigorous  of  the  men,  pushed  on  to  send  succor 
from  Fort  Enterprise,  and  Franklin  followed  more  slowly  wdth  the  others. 
On  reaching  the  log  house  this  last  party  found  that  wretched  tenement  desolate, 
with  no  deposit  of  provisions  and  no  trace  of  the  Indians  whom  they  had  ex- 
pected to  meet  there.  "  It  w^ould  be  irajxissible,"  says  Franklin,  "  to  describe 
our  sensations  after  entering  this  miserable  abode  and  discovering  how  we  had 
been  neglected ;  the  whole  party  shed  tears,  not  so  much  for  our  own  fate  as 
for  that  of  our  friends  in  the  rear,  whose  lives  depended  entirely  on  our  sending 
immediate  relief  from  this  place."  Their  only  consolation  was  a  gleam  of  hope 
afforded  them  by  a  note  from  Back,  stating  that  he  had  reached  the  deserted 
hut  two  days  before,  and  was  going  in  search  of  the  Indians.  The  fortunate 
discovery  of  some  cast-off  deer-skins  and  of  a  heap  of  acrid  bones,  a  provision 
worthy  of  the  place,  sustained  their  flickering  life-flame,  and  after  eighteen  miser- 
able days  they  were  joined  by  Dr.  Richardson  and  Hej^burn,  the  sole  survivors 
of  their  party,  Lieutenant  Hood,  a  young  officer  of  great  pi'omise,  having  been 
murdered  by  a  treacherous  Canadian,  whom  Richardson  was  afterwards  obliged 
to  shoot  through  the  head  in  self-defense. 

"  Upon  entering  the  desolate  dwelling,"  says  Richardson,  "  we  had  the  satis- 
faction of  embracing  Captain  Franklin,  but  no  words  can  convey  an  idea  of  the 
filth  and  wretchedness  that  met  our  eyes  on  looking  around.  Our  own  misery 
had  stolen  upon  us  by  degrees,  and  we  were  accustomed  to  the  contemplation 
of  each  other's  emaciated  figures ;  but  the  ghastly  countenances,  dilated  eye- 
balls, and  sepulchral  voices  of  Captain  Franklin  and  those  with  him  were  more 
than  we  could  at  first  bear."  At  length,  on  November  7,  Avhen  the  few  sur- 
vivors of  the  ill-fated  expedition  (for  most  of  the  voyagers  died  from  sheer  ex- 
haustion) were  on  the  point  of  sinking  under  their  sufferings,  three  Indians 
sent  by  Back,  whose  exertions  to  procure  them  relief  had  been  beyond  all  praise, 


348  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

brought  them  the  succor  they  had  so  long  been  waiting  for.  The  eagerness 
witli  wliich  they  feasted  on  dried  meat  and  excellent  tongues  may  well  be  im- 
agined ;  but  severe  pains  in  the  stomach  soon  warned  them  that  after  so  long 
an  abstinence  they  must  be  exceedingly  careful  in  the  quantity  of  food  taken. 
In  a  fortnight's  time  they 'had  sufficiently  recruited  their  strength  to  be  able  to 
join  Back  at  Moose  Deer  Island,  and  in  the  following  year  they  returned  to 
England. 

Parry's  second  voyage  of  discovery  (1821-1823)  was  undertaken  for  the 
purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  a  communication  might  be  found  between  Re- 
gent's Inlet  and  Rowe's  Welcome,  or  through  Repulse  Bay  and  thence  to  the 
north-western  shores  of  America.  The  first  summer  (1821)  was  spent  in  the 
vain  attempt  of  forcing  a  way  through  Frozen  Strait,  Repulse  Bay,  the  large 
masses  of  ice  in  these  waters  holding  the  ships  helplessly  in  their  grasp,  and 
often  carrying  them  back  in  a  few  days  to  the  very  spot  which  they  had  left  a 
month  before.  Owing  to  these  rebuffs,  the  season  came  to  an  end  wdiile  their 
enterprise  was  yet  scarcely  begun,  and  the  ships  took  up  their  quarters  in  an 
open  roadstead  at  AVinter  Island  to  the  south  of  Melville  Peninsula.  Besides 
the  winter  amusements  and  occupations  of  the  first  voyage,  the  monotony  of 
the  winter  Avas  pleasantly  broken  during  February  by  friendly  visits  from  a 
party  of  Esquimaux.  Among  these  a  young  woman,  Iligiiuk,  distinguished  her- 
self by  hev  talents.  Her  love  for  music  amounted  to  a  passion,  and  her  quick- 
ness of  comprehension  was  such  that  she  soon  became  an  established  inter- 
preter between  her  own  people  and  the  English.  The  nature  of  a  map  having 
been  explained  to  her,  she  readily  sketched  with  chalk  upon  the  deck  the  out- 
''%es  of  the  adjoining  coast,  and  continuing  it  farther,  delineated  the  whole 
eastern  shore  of  Melville  Peninsula,  rounding  its  northern  extremity  by  a  large 
island  and  a  strait  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  afford  a  safe  passage  for  the  ships. 
This  information  greatly  encouraged  the  whole  party,  whose  sanguine  anticipa- 
tions already  fancied  the  worst  part  of  their  voyage  overcome,  and  its  truth 
was  eagerly  tested  as  soon  as  the  ships  could  once  more  be  set  afloat,  which 
was  not  till  July  2. 

After  running  the  greatest  dangers  from  the  ice,  they  at  length  reached  the 
small  island  of  Igloolik,  near  the  entrance  of  the  channel,  the  situation  of  wh.ich 
had  been  accurately  laid  down  by  the  Esquimaux  woman.  But  all  their  efforts 
to  force  a  passage  through  the  narrow  strait  proved  vain,  for  after  struggling 
sixty-five  days  to  get  forward,  they  had  only  in  that  time  reached  forty  miles 
to  the  Avestward  of  Igloolik.  The  vessels  Avere  therefore  again  placed  in  win- 
ter-quarters in  a  channel  between  Igloolik  and  the  land ;  but  having  ascertained 
by  boat  excursions  the  termination  of  the  strait,  Parry  thought  it  so  promising 
for  the  ensuing  summer  that  he  at  once  named  it  the  "  Hecla  and  Fury  Strait." 
But  his  hopes  were  once  more  doomed  to  disappointment  by  the  ice-obstructed 
channel,  and  he  found  it  utterly  impossible  to  pass  through  it  with  his  ships. 
His  return  to  England  Avith  his  crews  in  health,  after  tAvo  Avinters  in  the  high 
latitudes,  Avas  another  triumph  of  judgment  and  discipline. 

In  the  following  year  tAvo  neAV  expeditions  set  sail  for  Polar  America.  Cap- 
tain Lyon  was  sent  out  in  the  "  Griper,"  Avith  orders  to  land  at  Wager  River 


ARCTIC   VOYAGES,  FROM  BAFFIN  TO  M'CLINTOCK.  349 

off  Repulse  Bay,  and  thence  to'  cross  Melville  Peninsula,  and  proceed  overland 
to  Point  Turnagain,  where  Franklin's  journey  ended.  But  a  succession  of 
dreadful  storms  so  crippled  the  "  Griper,"  Avhile  endeavoring  to  proceed  on- 
ward up  Rowe's  Welcome,  that  it  became  necessary  to  return  at  once  to  Eng- 
land. 

Such  was  the  esteem  and  affection  Parry  had  acquired  among  the  comj^an- 
ions  of  his  two  former  voyages,  that  when  he  took  the  command  of  a  third  ex- 
pedition, with  the  intention  of  seeking  a  passage  through  Prince  Regent's  In- 
let, they  all  volunteered  to  accompany  him.  From  the  middle  of  July  till  nearly 
the  middle  of  September  (1824),  the  "Hecla"  and  the  "Fary"  had  to  contend 
with  the  enromous  ice-masses  of  Baffin's  Bay,  which  would  infallibly  have 
crushed  vessels  less  stoutly  ribbed ;  and  thus  it  was  not  before  September  10 
that  they  entered  Lancaster  Sound,  which  they  found  clear  of  ice,  except  here 
and  there  a  solitary  berg.  But  new  ice  now  began  to  form,  which,  increasing 
daily  in  thickness,  beset  the  ship,  and  carried  them  once  more  back  again  into 
Baffin's  Bay.  By  perseverance,  however,  and  the  aid  of  a  strong  easterly  breeze, 
Paray  regained  the  lost  ground,  and  on  September  27  reached  the  entrance  of 
Port  Bowen,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Prince  Regent's  Inlet,  where  he  passed  the 
winter.  By  July  19  the  vessels  were  again  free,  and  Parry  now  sailed  across 
the  inlet  to  examine  the  coast  of  North  Somerset;  but  the  floating  ice  so  in- 
jured the  "  Fury"  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  abandon  her.  Iler  crew  and 
valuables  were  therefore  received  on  board  the  "  Ilecla  ;"  the  provisions,  stores, 
and  boats  were  landed,  and  safely  housed  on  Fury  Point,  off  North  Somerset, 
for  the  relief  of  any  wandering  Esquimaux,  or  future  Arctic  explorers  who 
might  chance  to  visit  the  spot,  and  the  crippled  ship  was  given  up  to  the  mercy 
of  the  relentless  ice,  while  her  companion  made  the  best  of  her  way  to  Eng- 
land. 

In  spite  of  the  dreadful  sufferings  of  Franklin,  Richardson,  and  Back  during 
their  first  land  journey,  we  find  these  heroes  once  more  setting  forth  in  1825, 
determined  to  resume  the  survey  of  the  Arctic  coasts  of  the  American  conti- 
nent. A  far  more  adequate  preparation  was  made  for  the  necessities  of  their 
journey  than  before ;  and  before  they  settled  down  for  the  winter  at  "  Fort 
Franklin,"  on  the  shores  of  Great  Bear  Lake,  a  journey  of  investigation  down 
the  Mackenzie  River  to  the  sea  had  been  brought  to  a  successful  end.  As  soon 
as  the  ice  broke  in  the  following  summer,  they  set  out  in  four  boats,  and  sepa- 
rated at  the  point  Avhere  the  river  divides  into  two  main  branches,  Franklin  and 
Back  proposing  to  survey  the  coast-line  to  the  westward,  while  Richardson  set 
out  in  an  easterly  direction  to  the  mouth  of  the  Coppermine  River.  Franklin 
arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  on  July  V,  where  a  large  tribe  of  Esqui- 
maux pillaged  his  boats,  and  it  was  only  by  great  prudence  and  jopbearancc 
that  the  whole  party  were  not  massacred,  A  full  month  was  now  spent  in  the 
tedious  survey  of  374  miles  of  coast,  as  far  as  Return  Reef,  more  than  1000  miles 
distant  from  their  winter-quarters  on  gi'eat  Bear  Lake.  The  return  journey 
to  Fort  Franklin  was  safely  accomplished,  and  they  arrived  at  their  house  on 
September  21,  where  they  had  the  pleasure  of  finding  Dr.  Richardson  and  Lieu- 
tenant Kendall,  who,  on  their  part,  had  reached  the  Coppermine,  thus  connect- 


350  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

ing  Sir  John  Franklin's  former  discoveries  to  the  eastward  in  Coronation  Gulf 
with  those  made  by  him  on  this  occasion  to  the  westward  of  the  Mackenzie. 
The  cold  during  the  second  winter  at  Fort  Franklin  was  intense,  the  thermom- 
eter standing  at  one  time  at  58°  below  zero ;  but  the  comfort  they  now  enjoyed 
formed  a  most  pleasing  contrast  to  the  squalid  misery  of  Fort  Enterprise. 

When  Franklin  left  England  to  proceed  on  this  expedition,  his  first  wife  was 
then  lying  at  the  point  of  death,  and  indeed  expired  the  day  after  his  depart- 
ure. But  with  heroic  fortitude  she  urged  him  to  set  out  on  the  very  day  ap- 
pointed, entreating  him,  as  he  valued  her  peace  and  his  own  glory,  not  to  delay 
a  moment  on  her  account.  His  feelings  may  be  imagined  when  he  raised  on 
Garry  Island  a  silk  flag  which  she  had  made  and  given  him  as  a  parting  gift, 
with  the  instruction  that  he  was  only  to  hoist  it  on  reaching  the  Polar  Sea. 

While  Parry  and  Franklin  were  thus  severally  employed  in  searching  for  a 
western  passage,  a  sea  expedition  under  the  command  of  Captain  Beechey  had 
been  sent  to  Bering's  Straits  to  co-operate  with  them,  so  as  to  furnish  provis- 
ions to  the  former  and  a  conveyance  home  to  the  latter — a  task  more  easily 
planned  than  executed ;  and  thus  we  can  not  wonder  that  when  the  "  Blossom  " 
reached  the  appointed  place  of  rendezvous  at  Chamisso  Island,  in  Kotzebue 
Sound  (July  25, 1826),  she  found  neither  Parry  (who  had  long  since  returned 
to  England)  nor  Franklin.  Yet  the  barge  of  the  "  Blossom  " — which  was  dis- 
patched to  the  eastward  under  charge  of  Mr.  Elson — narrowly  missed  meeting 
the  latter ;  for  when  she  was  stopped  by  the  ice  at  Point  Barrow,  she  was  only 
about  150  miles  from  Return  Reef,  the  limit  of  his  discoveries  to  the  westward 
of  the  Mackenzie. 

In  the  year  1827  the  indefatigable  Parry  undertook  one  of  the  most  extra- 
ordinary voyages  ever  performed  by  man ;  being  no  less  than  an  attempt  to 
reach  the  North  Pole  by  boat  and  sledge  travelling  over  the  ice.  His  hopes  of 
success  were  founded  on  Crosby's  authority,  who  reports  having  seen  ice-fields 
so  free  from  either  fissure  or  hummock,  that  had  they  not  been  covered  with 
snow,  a  coach  might  have  been  driven  many  leagues  over  them  in  a  direct  line ; 
but  when  Parry  reached  the  ice-fields  to  the  north  of  Spitzbei'gen,  he  foimd  them 
of  a  very  different  nature,  composed  of  loose,  rugged  masses,  intermixed  with 
pools  of  water,  which  rendered  travelling  over  them  extremely  arduous  and  slow. 
The  strong  flat-bottomed  boats,  specially  prepared  for  an  amphibious  journey, 
Mith  a  runner  attached  to  each  side  of  the  keel,  so  as  to  adapt  them  for  sledg- 
ing, had  thus  frequently  to  be  laden  and  unladen,  in  order  to  be  raised  over  the 
hummocks,  and  repeated  journeys  backward  and  forward  over  the  same  ground 
were  the  necessary  consequence.  Frequently  the  crew  had  to  go  on  hands  and 
knees  to  secure  a  footing.  Heavy  showers  of  rain  often  rendered  the  surface 
of  the  ice  a  mass  of  slush,  and  in  some  places  the  ice  took  the  form  of  sharp- 
pointed  crystals,  which  cut  the  boots  like  penknives.  But  in  spite  of  all  these 
obstacles,  they  toiled  cheerfully  on,  until  at  length,  after  thirty-five  days  of  in- 
cessant drudgery,  the  discovery  was  made  that,  while  they  were  apparently  ad- 
vancing towards  the  pole,  the  ice-field  on  which  they  were  travelling  vas  drift- 
ing to  the  south,  and  thus  rendering  all  their  exertions  fruitless.  Yet,  though 
disappointed  in  his  hope  of  planting  his  country's  standard  on  the  northern 


ARCTIC   VOYAGES,  FROM   BAFFIN  TO   M'CLINTOCK.  351 

axis  of  the  globe,  Parry  had  the  glory  of  reaching  the  highest  authenticated 
latitude  ever  yet  attained  (82°  40' .30").  On  their  return  to  the  "Hecla,"  which 
awaited  them  under  Captain  Forester  in  Treurenberg  Bay,  on  the  northern 
coast  of  Spitzbergen,  the  boats  encountered  a  dreadful  storm  on  the  open  sea, 
which  obliged  them  to  bear  up  for  Walden  Island — one  of  the  most  northerly 
rocks  of  the  archipelago — where,  fortunately,  a  reserve  supply  of  provisions  had 
been  deposited.  "  Every  thing  belonging  to  us,"  says  Sir  Edward  Parry,  "  Avas 
now  completely  drenched  by  the  spray  and  snow ;  Ave  had  been  fifty-six  hours 
without  rest,  and  forty-eight  at  work  in  the  boats,  so  that  by  the  time  they  were 
unloaded  we  had  barely  strength  to  haul  them  up  on  the  rocks.  However,  by 
dint  of  great  exertion,  we  managed  to  get  the  boats  above  the  surf,  after  which, 
a  hot  supper,  a  blazing  fire  of  drift-wood,  and  a  few  hours'  quiet  rest  restored 
us,"  He  who  laments  over  the  degeneracy  of  the  human  race,  and  supposes  it 
to  have  been  more  vigorous  or  endoAved  Avith  greater  powers  of  endurance  in 
ancient  times,  may  perhaps  come  to  a  different  opinion  when  reading  of  Parry 
and  his  companions. 

Thus  ended  the  last  of  this  great  navigator's  Arctic  voyages.  Born  in  the 
year  1790,  of  a  family  of  seamen,  Parry  at  an  early  age  devoted  himself,  heart 
and  soul,  to  the  profession  in  which  his  father  had  grown  old.  In  his  tAventy- 
eighth  year  he  discovered  Melville  Island,  and  his  subsequent  expedition  con- 
firmed the  excellent  reputation  he  had  acquired  by  his  first  briUiant  success. 
From  the  years  1829  to  1834  we  find  him  in  New  South  Wales,  as  Resident 
Commissioner  of  the  Australian  Agricultural  Company.  In  the  year  1837  he 
Avas  appointed  to  organize  the  mail-packet  service,  then  transferred  to  the  Ad- 
miralty, and  after  filling  the  post  of  Captain  Superintendent  of  the  Royal  Naval 
Hospital  at  Haslar,  was  finally  appointed  Governor  of  GreeuAvich  Hosj^ital.  He 
died  in  the  summer  of  1855  at  Ems. 

Ten  years  had  elapsed  since  Captain  John  Ross's  first  unsuccessful  voyage, 
when  the  v^eteran  seaman,  anxious  to  obliterate  the  reproach  of  former  failure 
by  some  Avorthy  achievement,  Avas  enabled,  througli  the  munificence  of  Sir  Felix 
Booth,  to  accomplish  his  Avishes.  A  small  Liverpool  steamer,  bearing  the  rath- 
er presumptuous  name  of  the  "  Victory,"  Avas  purchased  for  the  voyage,  a  rather 
unfortunate  selection,  for  surely  nothing  can  be  more  ixnpractical  than  paddle- 
boxes  among  ice-blocks ;  but  to  make  amends  for  this  error,  the  commander  of 
the  expedition  Avas  fortunate  in  being  accompanied  by  his  nephew,  Commander 
James  Ross,  Avho,  Avith  every  quality  of  the  seaman,  united  the  zeal  of  an  able 
naturalist.  He  it  Avas  who,  by  his  Avell-executed  sledge  journeys,  made  the 
chief  discoveries  of  the  expedition  ;  but  the  voyage  of  the  "  Victory  "  is  far  less 
remarkable  for  successes  achieved  than  for  its  unexampled  protraction  during 
a  period  of  fiA^e  years. 

The  first  season  ended  well.  On  August  10,  1829,  the  "Victory"  entered 
Prince  Regent's  Inlet,  and  reached  on  the  13th  the  spot  where  Parry,  on  his 
third  voyage,  had  been  obliged  to  abandon  the  "  Fury."  The  ship  itself  had 
been  SAvept  away ;  but  all  her  sails,  stores,  and  provisions  on  land  Avere  found 
untouched.  The  hermetically  sealed  tin  canisters  in  Avhich  the  flour,  meat,  bread, 
Avine,  spirits,  sugar,  etc.,  Avere  packed  had  preserved  them  from  the  attacks  of 


353  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

the  white  bears,  and  they  Avcre  found  as  good  after  four  years  as  they  had  been 
on  the  day  wlien  the  "  Fury  "  started  on  her  voyage.  It  was  to  this  discovery 
that  the  crew  of  the'"  Victory  "  owed  their  subsequent  preservation,  for  how 
else  could  they  have  passed  four  winters  in  the  Arctic  Avastes  ? 

On  August  15  Cape  Garry  was  attained,  the  most  southern  point  of  the  inlet 
which  Parry  had  reached  on  his  third  voyage.  Fogs  and  drift-ice  greatly  re- 
tarded the  progress  of  the  expedition,  but  Ross  moved  on,  though  slowly,  so 
that  about  the  middle  of  September  the  map  of  the  northern  regions  was  en- 
riched by  some  500  miles  of  newly-discovered  coast.  But  now,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  winter,  the  "Victory"  was  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  Felix  Harbor, 
where  the  useless  steam-engine  was  thrown  overboard  as  a  nuisance,  and  the 
usual  preparations  made  for  spending  the  cold  season  as  pleasantly  as  possible. 
The  following  spring  (from  May  17  to  June  13)  was  employed  by  James 
Ross  on  a  sledge  journey,  which  led  to  the  discovery  of  King  William's  Sound 
and  King  William's  Land,  and  during  which  that  courageous  mariner  penetra- 
ted so  far  to  the  west  that  he  had  only  ten  days'  provisions — scantily  measured 
out — for  a  return  voyage  of  200  miles  through  an  empty  wilderness. 

After  twelve  months'  imprisonment,  the  "  Victory  "  Avas  released  from  the 
ice  on  September  17,  and  proceeded  once  more  on  her  discoveries.  But  the 
period  of  her  liberty  was  short,  for,  after  advancing  three  miles  in  one  continual 
battle  against  the  currents  and  the  drift-ice,  she  again  froze  fast  on  the  27th  of 
the  same  month. 

In  the  following  spring  Ave  again  see  the  indefatigable  James  Ross  extend- 
ing the  circle  of  his  sledge  excursions,  and  planting  the  British  flag  on  the  site 
of  the  Northern  Magnetic  Pole — Avhich,  hoAvever,  is  not  invariably  fixed  to  one 
spot,  as  Avas  then  belicA^ed,  but  moves  from  place  to  place  Avithin  the  glacial 
zone. 

On  August  28, 1831,  the  "Victory" — after  a  second  imprisonment  of  eleven 
months— was  Avarped  into  open  Avater;  but  after  spending  a  Avhole  month  to 
advance  four  miles,  she  Avas  encompassed  by  the  ice  on  September  27,  and  once 
more  fettered  in  the  dreary  Avilderness. 

As  there  seemed  no  prospect  of  extricating  her  next  summer,  they  resolved 
to  abandon  her  and  travel  over  the  ice  to  Fury  Beach,  there  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  boats,  provisions,  and  stores,  Avhich  Avould  assist  them  in  reaching  Davis's 
Straits.  Accordingly,  on  May  29,  1 832,  the  colors  of  the  "  Victory  "  Avere  hoist- 
ed and  nailed  to  the  mast,  and  after  drinking  a  parting  glass  to  the  ship  Avith  the 
creAV,  and  having  seen  every  man  out  in  the  evening,  the  captain  took  his  OAvn 
leave  of  her.  "  It  Avas  the  first  vessel,"  says  Ross,  "  that  I  had  ever  been  obliged 
to  abandon,  after  having  served  in  thirty-six,  during  a  period  of  forty-two  years. 
It  was  like  the  last  parting  Avith  an  old  friend,  and  I  did  not  pass  the  point 
where  she  ceased  to  be  visible  Avithout  stopping  to  take  a  sketch  of  this  melan- 
choly desert,  rendered  more  melancholy  by  the  solitary,  abandoned,  helpless 
home  of  our  past  years,  fixed  in  immovable  ice,  till  time  should  perform  on  her 
his  usual  Avork." 

After  having,  Avith  incredilile  difficulty,  reached  Fury  Beach,  where,  thanks 
to  the  forethousfht  of  Sir  Edward  Parrv,  they  fortunately  found  a  sufficient  num- 


ARCTIC  VOYAGES,  FROM  BAFFIN  TO   M'CLINTOCK.  353 

ber  of  boats  IMt  for  their  purpose,  aud  all  the  provisions  in  good  condition, 
they  set  out  on  August  1 — a  considerable  extent  of  open  sea  being  visible — and 
after  much  buffeting  among  the  ice,  reached  the  north  of  the  inlet  by  the 
end  of  the  month.  But  here  they  were  doomed  to  disappointment,  for,  after 
several  fruitless  attempts  to  run  along  Barrow's  Strait,  the  ice  obliged  them  to 
haul  their  boats  on  shore  and  pitch  their  tents.  Day  after  day  they  lingered 
till  the  third  week  in  September,  but  the  strait  continuing  one  impenetrable 
mass  of  ice,  it  was  unanimously  agreed  that  their  only  resource  was  to  fall  back 
again  on  the  stores  at  Fury  Beach,  aud  there  spend  a  fourth  long  winter  within 
the  Arctic  Circle.  They  were  only  able  to  get  half  the  distance  in  the  boats, 
which  were  hauled  on  shore  in  Batty  Bay  on  September  24,  and  performed  the 
rest  of  their  journey  on  foot,  the  provisions  being  dragged  in  sledges.  On  Oc- 
tober Y  they  once  more  reached  the  canvas  hut,  dignified  with  the  name  of 
"Somerset  House,"  which  they  had  erected  in  July  on  the  scene  of  the 
"  Fury's  "  wreck,  and  which  they  had  vainly  hoped  never  to  see  again. 

They  now  set  about  building  a  snow-wall  four  feet  thick  round  their  dwell- 
ing, and  strengthening  the  roof  with  spars,  for  the  purpose  of  covering  it  with 
snow,  and  by  means  of  this  shelter,  and  an  additional  stove,  made  themselves 
tolerably  comfortable,  until  the  increasing  severity  of  the  cold  and  the  furious 
gales  confined  them  within-doors,  and  sorely  tried  their  patience.  Scurvy  now 
began  to  appear,  and  several  of  the  men  fell  victims  to  the  scourge.  At  the 
same  time,  cares  for  the  future  darkened  the  gloom  of  their  situation  ;  for,  should 
they  be  disappointed  in  their  hopes  of  escaping  in  the  ensuing  summer,  their 
failing  strength  and  diminishing  stores  gave  them  but  little  hope  of  surviving 
another  year. 

It  may  easily  be  imagined  how  anxiously  the  movements  of  the  ice  were 
watched  when  the  next  season  opened,  and  with  what  beating  hearts  they  em- 
barked at  Batty  Bay  on  August  15.  Making  their  way  slowly  among  the  mass- 
es of  ice  with  which  the  inlet  was  encumbered,  they  to  their  great  joy  found, 
on  the  1 7th,  the  wide  expanse  of  Barrow's  Strait  open  to  navigation. 

Pushing  on  with  renewed  spirits.  Cape  York  soon  lay  behind  them,  and,  al- 
ternately rowing  and  sailing,  on  the  night  of  the  25th  they  rested  in  a  good 
harbor  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Navy  Board  Inlet.  At  4  o'clock  on  the  follow- 
ing morning  they  were  roused  from  their  slumber  by  the  joyful  intelligence 
of  a  ship  being  in  sight,  and  never  did  men  more  hurriedly  and  energetically 
set  out ;  but  the  elements  were  against  them,  and  the  ship  disappeared  in  the 
distant  haze. 

After  a  few  hours'  suspense,  the  sight  of  another  vessel  lying  to  in  a  calm 
relieved  their  despair.  This  time  their  exertions  were  successful,  and,  strangle 
to  say, the  ship  which  took  them  on  board  was  the  same  "Isabella" — now  re- 
duced to  the  rank  of  a  private  Avhaler — in  which  Koss  had  made  his  first  voyage 
to  the  Arctic  Seas. 

The  seamen  of  the  "  Isabella  "  told  him  of  his  own  death — of  which  all  Eng- 
land was  persuaded — and  could  hardly  believe  that  it  was  really  he  and  his 
party  who  now  stood  before  them.  But  when  all  doubts  were  cleared  away,  the 
rigging  was  instantly  manned  to  do  them  honor,  and  thundering  cheers  >vel- 

23 


354  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

corned  Ross  and  his  gallant  band  on  board  !     The  scene  that  now  followed  can 
not  be  better  told  than  in  Ross's  own  words, 

"  Thongh  we  had  not  been  supported  by  our  names  and  characters,  we  should 
not  the  less  have  claimed  from  charity  the  attentions  that  Ave  received  ;  for  nev- 
er was  seen  a  more  miserable  set  of  wretches.  Unshaven  since  I  know  not  when, 
dirty,  dressed  in  rags  of  wild  beasts,  and  starved  to  the  very  bones,  our  gaunt  and 
grim  looks,  Avhen  contrasted  with  those  of  the  well-dressed  and  well-fed  men 
around  us,  made  us  all  feel  (I  believe  for  the  first  time)  what  we  really  were,  as 
well  as  what  we  seemed  to  others.  But  the  ludicrous  soon  took  the  place  of 
all  other  feelings ;  in  such  a  crowd  and  such  confusion,  all  serious  thought  was 
impossible,  while  the  new  buoyancy  of  our  spirits  made  us  abundantly  willing 
to  be  amused  by  the  scene  which  now  opened.  Every  man  was  hungry,  and 
was  to  be  fed ;  all  were  ragged,  and  were  to  be  clothed ;  there  was  not  one  to 
whom  washing  was  not  indispensable,  nor  one  whom  his  beard  did  not  deprive 
of  all  human  semblance.  All,  every  thing  too,  was  to  be  done  at  once :  it  was  • 
Avashing,  dressing,  shaving,  eating,  all  intermingled  :  it  Avas  all  the  materials  of 
each  jumbled  together,  Avhile  in  the  midst  of  all  there  Avere  interminable  ques- 
tions to  be  asked  and  ansAvered  on  both  sides ;  the  adventures  of  the  '  Victory,' 
our  OAvn  escapes,  the  politics  of  England,  and  the  ncAvs,  Avhich  Avas  now  four 
years  old.  But  all  subsided  into  peace  at  last.  The  sick  Avere  accommodated, 
the  seamen  disposed  of,  and  all  was  done  for  us  Avhich  care  and  kindness  could 
]-)erform.  Night  at  length  brought  quiet  and  serious  thoughts,  and  I  trust  there 
was  not  a  man  among  us  Avho  did  not  then  express  where  it  was  due  his  grati- 
tude for  that  intei'position  Avhich  had  raised  us  all  from  a  despair  Avdiich  none 
could  now  forget,  and  had  brought  us  from  the  borders  of  a  most  distant  grave 
to  life,  and  friends,  and  civiUzation.  Long  accustomed,  however,  to  a  cold  bed 
on  the  hard  snow  or  the  bare  rocks,  f cav  could  sleep  amidst  the  comfort  of  our 
ncAv  accommodations,  I  was  myself  compelled  to  leave  the  bed  Avhich  had  been 
kindly  assigned  me,  and  take  my  abode  in  a  chair  for  the  night;  nor  did  it  fare 
much  better  with  the  rest.  It  was  for  time  to  reconcile  us  to  this  sudden  and 
violent  change,  to  break  through  what  had  become  habit,  and  to  inure  us  once 
more  to  the  usages  of  our  former  days." 

The  "Isabella"  remained  some  time  longer  in  Baffin's  Bay  to  prosecute  the 
fishery,  and  thus  our  Arctic  voyagers  did  not  return  to  England  before  October 
15, 1833,  AA'hen  they  Avere  receiA^ed  as  men  risen  from  the  grave.  Wherever  Ross 
appeared,  he  Avas  met  and  escorted  by  a  crowd  of  sympathizers  ;  orders,  medals, 
and  diplomas  from  foreign  states  and  learned  societies  rained  doAvn  upon  him. 
London,  Liverpool,  Bristol,  and  Hull  presented  him  Avith  the  freedom  of  their  re- 
spective cities ;  he  received  the  honor  of  knighthood ;  and,  though  last,  not 
least,  Parliament  granted  him  £5000  as  a  remiineration  for  his  pecuniary  out- 
lay and  privations. 

It  may  easily  be  imagined  that  his  long-protracted  absence  had  not  been  al- 
lowed to  pass  Avithout  aAvakening  a  strong  desire  to  bring  him  aid  and  assist- 
ance. Thus,  Avhen  Captain  (afterAvards  Rear-admiral  Sir  George)  Back,  that 
noble  Paladin  of  Ai'ctic  research,  volunteered  to  lead  a  land  expedition  in  quest 
of  Ross  to  the  northern  shore  of  America,  £4000  Avere  immediately  raised  by 


ARCTIC   VOYAGES,  FROM  BxVFFIN  TO  M'CLINTOCK.  355 

public  subscription  to  defray  expenses.  While  deep  in  the  American  Avilds, 
Back  was  gratified  with  the  intelligence  that  the  object  of  his  search  had  safely 
arrived  in  England ;  but,  instead  of  returning  home,  the  indefatigable  explorer 
resolved  to  trace  the  unknown  course  of  the  Thlu-it-scho,  or  Great  Fish  River, 
down  to  the  distant  outlet  where  it  pours  its  waters  into  the  Polar  Seas. 

It  would  take  a  volume  to  relate  his  adventures  in  this  expedition,  the  num- 
berless falls,  cascades,  and  rapids  that  obstructed  his  progress  ;  the  storms  and 
snow-drifts,  the  horrors  of  the  deserts  through  which  he  forced  his  way,  until  he 
finally  (July  28)  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Thlu-it-scho,  or,  rather,  the  broad  estu- 
ary through  which  it  disembogues  itself  into  the  Polar  Sea.  His  intention 
was  to  pi-oceed  to  Point  Turnagain,  but  the  obstacles  were  insui-mountable,  even 
by  him.  For  ten  days  the  exploring  party  had  a  continuation  of  wet,  chilly, 
foggy  weather,  and  the  only  vegetation  (fern  and  moss)  was  so  damp  that  it 
would  not  biirn ;  being  thus  without  fuel,  they  had  only  during  this  time  one 
hot  meal.  Almost  without  water,  without  any  means  of  warmth,  and  sinking 
knee-deep  as  they  proceeded  on  land,  in  the  soft  slush  and  snow,  no  wonder 
that  some  of  the  best  men,  benumbed  in  their  limbs,  and  dispirited  by  the  pros- 
pect before  them,  broke  t)ut  for  a  moment  in  murmuring  at  the  hardness  of  their 
duty. 

On  August  1 5,  seeing  the  impossibility  of  proceeding  even  a  single  mile  far- 
ther. Back  assembled  the  men  around  him,  and  unfurling  the  British  flag,  which 
was  saluted  with  three  cheers,  he  announced  to  them  his  determination  to  re- 
turn. The  difiiculties  of  the  river  were  of  course  doubled  in  the  ascent,  from 
having  to  go  against  the  stream.  All  the  obstacles  of  rocks,  rapids,  sand-banks, 
and  long  portages  had  to  be  faced.  They  found,  as  they  went  on,  that  many 
of  the  deposits  of  provisions,  on  which  they  relied,  had  been  destroyed  by 
wolves.  After  thus  toiling  on  for  six  weeks,  they  were  ultimately  stoj^ped  by 
one  most  formidable  perpendicular  fall,  which  obliged  them  to  abandon  their 
boat ;  and  proceeding  on  foot — each  laden  with  a  pack  of  about  75  lbs.  weiglit 
— they  ultimately  arrived  at  their  old  habitation.  Fort  Reliance,  after  an  ab- 
sence of  nearly  four  months,  exhausted  and  worn  out,  but  jnstly  proud  of  hav- 
ing accomplished  so  difficult  and  dangerous  a  voyage. 

The  Fish  River  has  since  been  named  Back's  River,  in  honor  of  its  discover- 
er; and  surely  no  geographical  distinction  has  ever  been  more  justly  merited. 

This  indefatigable  explorer  had  scarcely  returned  to  England  (Sept.  8, 1835), 
when  he  once  more  set  out  on  his  way  to  the  Arctic  regions ;  but  his  ship,  the 
"  Terror,"  was  so  disabled  by  the  ice  that  she  was  scarcely  able  to  accomplish 
the  return  voyage  across  the  Atlantic,  without  allowing  her  to  make  any  new 
discoveries. 

The  land  expedition  sent  out  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  (1837-39),  under 
the  direction  of  Peter  Warren  Dease,  one  of  their  chief  factors,  and  Mr.  Thomas 
Simpson,  proved  far  more  successful.  Descending  the  Mackenzie  to  the  sea, 
they  surveyed,  in  July,  1837,  that  part  of  the  northern  coast  of  America  which 
had  been  left  unexamined  by  Franklin  and  Elson  in  1825,  from  Return  Reef  to 
Cape  Barrow. 

Although  it  was  the  height  of  summer,  the  ground  was  found  frozen  several 


356  TlIE   POLAR  WORLD. 

inches  'oelow  the  surface,  and  the  spray  froze  on  the  oars  and  rigging  of  their 
boats,  which  the  drift-ice  along  the  shore  ultimately  obliged  them  to  leave 
behind. 

A^  they  went  onward  on  foot,  heavily  laden,  the  frequent  necessity  of  wading 
up  to  the  middle  in  the  ice-cold  water  of  the  inlets,  together  with  the  constant 
foo-s  and  the  sharp  north  wind,  tried  their  powers  of  endurance  to  the  utmost ; 
but  Simpson,  the  hero  of  the  expedition,  was  not  to  be  deterred  by  any  thing 
short  of  absolute  impossibility;  nor  did  he  stop  till  he  had  reached  Point- 
Barrow.  Indeed,  no  man  could  be  more  fit  than  he  to  lead  an  expedition  like 
this,  for  he  had  once  before  travelled  2000  miles  on  foot  in  the  middle  of 
winter  from  York  Factory  to  Athabasca,  walking  sometimes  not  less  than 
fifty  miles  in  one  day,  and  without  any  protection  against  the  cold  but  an  ordi- 
nary cloth  mantle. 

After  wintering  at  Fort  Confidence,  on  Great  Bear  Lake,  the  next  season 
was  profitably  employed  in  descending  the  Coppermine  River,  and  tracing  nearly 
140  miles  of  new  coast  beyond  Cape  Turnagain,  the  limit  of  Franklin's  survey 
in  1821.  The  third  season  (1839)  was  still  more  favored  by  fortune,  for  Simpson 
succeeded  in  discovering  the  whole  coast  beyond  CaJ)e  Turnagain  as  far  as 
Castor  and  Pollux  River  (August  20,  1839),  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  vast  arm 
of  the  sea  which  receives  the  waters  of  the  Great  Fish  River.  On  his  return 
voyage,  he  traced  sixty  miles  of  the  south  coast  of  King  William's  Island,  and 
a  considerable  part  of  the  high,  bold  shores  of  Victoria  Land,  and  reached  Fort 
Confidence  on  September  24,  after  one  of  the  longest  and  most  successful  boat 
voyages  ever  performed  in  the  Polar  waters,  having  traversed  more  than  1600 
miles  of  sea. 

Unfortunately  he  Avas  not  destined  to  reap  the  rewards  of  his  labor,  for  in 
the  following  year,  while  travelling  from  the  Red  River  to  the  Mississippi, 
where  he  intended  to  embark  for  England,  he  was  assassinated  by  his  Indian 
guides;  and  thus  died,  in  the  thirty-sixth  year  of  his  age,  one  of  the  best  men 
that  have  ever  served  the  cause  of  science  in  the  frozen  north. 

On  May  26, 1845,  Sir  John  Franklin,  now  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age,  and 
Captain  Crozier,  sailed  from  England,  to  make  a  new  attempt  at  the  north-west 
passage.  Never  did  stouter  vessels  than  the  "  Erebus "  and  "  Terror,"  well- 
tried  in  the  Antarctic  Seas,  carry  a  finer  or  more  ably  commanded  crew ;  never 
before  had  human  foresight  so  strained  all  her  resources  to  insure  success  ;  and 
thus,  when  the  commander's  last  dispatches  from  the  Whalefish  Islands,  Baf- 
fin's Bay  (July  12),  previous  to  his  sailing  to  Lancaster  Sound,  arrived  in  Eng- 
land no  one  doubted  but  that  he  was  about  to  add  a  new  and  brilliant  chapter 
to  the  history  of  Arctic  discovery. 

His  return  was  confidently  expected  towards  the  end  of  1847;  but  when 
the  winter  passed  and  still  no  tidings  came,  the  anxiety  at  his  prolonged  absence 
became  general,  and  the  early  part  of  1848  witnessed  the  beginning  of  a  series 
of  searching  expeditions  fitted  out  at  the  public  cost  or  by  private  munificence, 
on  a  scale  exceeding  all  former  examples.  The  "  Plover  "  and  the  "  Herald  " 
(1848)  were  sent  to  Bering's  Straits  to  meet  Franklin  with  supplies,  should  he 
succeed  in  getting  thither.     In  spring  Sir  John  Richardson  hurried  to  the  shores 


ARCTIC   VOYAGES,  FROM   BAFFIN  TO   M'CLINTOCK.  357 

of  the  Polar  Sea,  anxious  to  find  the  traces  of  his  lost  friend.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  Dr.  Rae,  who  had  just  returned  from  the  memorable  land  expedition 
(1846-47),  during  which,  after  crossing  the  isthmus  which  joins  Melville 
Peninsula  to  the  mainland,  he  traced  the  shores  of  Committee  Bay  and  the  east 
coast  of  Boothia  as  far  as  the  Lord  Mayor's  Bay  of  Sir  John  Ross,  thus  proving 
that  desolate  land  to  be  likewise  a  vast  peninsula. 

But  in  vain  did  Rae  and  Richardson  explore  all  the  coasts  between  the 
•Mackenzie  and  the  Coppermine.  The  desert  remained  mute ;  and  Sir  James 
Ross  ("  Enterprise  ")  and  Captain  Bird  ("  Investigator  "),  who  set  sail  in  June, 
1848,  three  months  after  Dr.  Richardson's  departure,  and  minutely  examined  all 
the  shores  near  Barrow  Strait,  proved  equally  unsuccessful. 

Three  years  had  now  passed  since  Franklin  had  been  expected  home,  and 
even  the  most  sanguine  began  to  despair ;  but  to  remove  all  doubts,  it  was  re- 
solved to  explore  once  more  all  the  gulfs  and  channels  of  the  Polar  Sea.  Thus 
in  the  year  1850  no  less  than  twelve  ships  sailed  forth,  some  to  Bering's  Straits, 
some  to  the  sounds  leading  from  Baffin's  Bay.*  Other  expeditions  followed 
in  1852  and  1853,  and  though  none  of  them  succeeded  in  the  object  of  their 
search,  yet  they  enriched  the  geography  of  the  Arctic  World  with  many  inter- 
esting discoveries,  the  most  important  of  which  I  will  now  briefly  mention. 

0^'ercoming  the  ice  of  Baffin's  Bay  by  the  aid  of  their  powerful  steam-tugs, 
Austin,  Ommaney,  and  Penny  reached  the  entrance  of  Lancaster  Sound.  Here 
they  separated,  and  while  the  "  Resolute "  remained  behind  to  examine  the 
neighborhood  of  Pond's  Bay,  Ommaney  found  at  Cape  Riley  (North  Devon) 
the  first  traces  of  the  lost  expedition.  He  was  soon  joined  by  Ross,  Austin, 
Penny,  and  the  Americans,  and  a  minute  investigation  soon  proved  that  Cape 
Spencer  and  Beechey  Island,  at  the  entrance  of  Wellington  Channel,  had  been 
the  site  of  Franklin's  first  winter-quarters,  distinctly  marked  by  the  remains  of 
a  large  storehouse,  staves  of  casks,  empty  pemmican-tins,  and,  most  touching 
relic  of  all,  a  little  garden  shaped  into  a  neat  oval  by  some  flower-loving  sailor, 
and  filled  with  the  few  hardy  plants  which  that  bleak  clime  can  nourish.  Mean- 
while winter  approached,  and  little  more  could  be  done  that  season ;  so  all  the 
vessels  which  had  entered  Barrow's  Strait  now  took  ujd  their  winter-quarters  at 
the  southern  extremity  of  Cornwallis  Land ;  with  the  exception  of  the  "  Prince 
Albert,"  which  set  sail  for  England  before  winter  set  in,  and  of  the  Americans, 


1850-185i.      "  Investigator,"  Captain  M'Clure,)   j^^^.^^  _.,^  Straits 

1850-1855.     "  Enterprise,"  Captain  Collinson,  j 

1850,1851.      "Resolute,"  Captain  Austin,  )   t  ,.      o^    -^      j  /^  n-    r  ,     ^ 

^„-„  -,«-,       ,<  .     .  „  ,;        .     ^  ,>-  Lancaster  Strait  and  Cornwallis  Island. 

18o0, 18ol.      "Assistance,    Captain  Ommaney,) 

Accompanied  liy  two  steam  tenders,  officered  by  Lieutenant  Sherard  Osborne  and 

Lieutenant  F.  L.  M'Clintock. 

1850,  1851.     "  Lady  Franklin,"  Master  Penny,  accompanied  b}'  the  "  Sophia,"  Master  A.  Stewart, 

under  Admiralty  Orders,  to  Lancaster  Strait  and  Wellington  Channel. 

1850.  "  Prince  Albert,"  Captain  Forsj'th,  belonging  to  Lady  Franklin,  to  Regent's  Inlet  and 

Beechey  Island. 

1850, 1851.     "Advance,"  Lieutenant  De  Haven.  U.S.N.| 

1850,  185L      "Rescue,"S.  P.  Griffin,  Esq.,  U.S.N.  > 

Fitted  at  the  expense  of  H.  Grinnell,  Esq.,  of  Now  York,  to" Lancaster  Strait  and 

Wellington  Channel. 


358  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

who,  perceiving  the  impolicy  of  so  many  sliips  pressing  to  the  westward  on  one 
parallel,  turned  back,  but  were  soon  shut  up  in  the  pack-ice,  which  for  eight  long 
months' kept  them  prisoners.  The  "Rescue"  and  "Advance"  were  drifted 
backward  and  forward  in  Wellington  Channel  until  in  December  a  terrific 
storm  drove  them  into  Barrow's  Strait,  and  still  farther  on  into  Lancaster  Sound. 
Several  times  during  this  dreadful  passage  they  were  in  danger  from  the  ice 
opening  round  them  and  closing  suddenly  again,  and  only  escaped  being  "  nip- 
ped "  by  their  small  size  and  strong  build,  which  enabled  them  to  rise  above 
the  opposing  edges  instead  of  being  crushed  between  them.  Even  on  their  ar- 
rival in  Baffin's  Bay  the  ice  did  not  release  them  from  its  hold,  and  it  was  not 
till  June  9, 1851,  that  they  reached  the  Danish  settlement  at  Disco.  After  re- 
cruiting his  exhausted  creAV,  the  gallant  De  Haven  determined  to  return  and 
prosecute  the  search  during  the  remainder  of  the  season  ;  but  the  discouraging 
reports  of  the  whalers  induced  him  to  change  his  purpose,  and  the  ships  and 
crews  reached  New  York  at  the  beginning  of  October,  having  passed  through 
perils  such  as  few  have  endured  and  still  fewer  have  lived  to  recount. 

Meamvhile  the  English  searching  expeditions  had  not  remained  inactive. 
As  soon  as  spring  came,  well-organized  sledge  expeditions  were  dispatched  in 
all  directions,  but  they  all  returned  with  the  same  invariable  tale  of  disappoint- 
ment. 

As  soon  iis  Wellington  Channel  opened,  Penny  boldly  entered  the  ice-lanes 
with  a  boat,  and,  after  a  series  of  adventures  and  difficulties,  penetrated  i;p 
Queen's  Channel  as  far  as  Baring  Island  and  Cape  Beecher,  where,  most  reluc- 
tantly, he  was  compelled  to  turn  back. 

A  fine  open  sea  stretched  invitingly  away  to  the  north,  but  his  fragile  boat 
was  ill-equipped  for  a  voyage  of  discovery.  Fully  persuaded  that  Franklin  must 
have  followed  this  route,  he  failed,  however,  in  convincing  Captain  Austin  of  the 
truth  of  his  theory,  and  as,  without  that  officer's  co-operation,  nothing  could  be 
effected,  he  was  compelled  to  follow  the  course  pointed  out  by  the  Admiralty 
squadron,  which,  after  two  ineffectual  attempts  to  enter  Smith's  and  Jones's 
Sounds,  returned  to  England. 

The  "Prince  Albert"  having  brought  home  in  1850  the  intelligence  of  the 
discoveries  at  Beechey  Island,  it  was  resolved  to  prosecute  the  search  during 
the  next  season,  and  no  time  was  lost  to  refit  the  little  vessel  and  send  her  once 
more  on  her  noble  errand,  under  the  command  of  William  Kennedy  (1851-52), 
to  examine  Prince  Regent's  Inlet,  on  the  coast  of  North  Somerset.  Finding  the 
passage  obstructed  by  a  barrier  of  ice,  Kennedy  was  obliged  to  take  a  tempo- 
rary refuge  in  Port  Bowen,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  inlet.  As  it  Avas  very 
undesirable,  however,  to  winter  on  the  opposite  coast  to  that  along  which  lay 
their  line  of  search,  Kennedy,  with  four  of  his  men,  crossed  to  Port  Leopold, 
amid  masses  of  ice,  to  ascertain  whether  any  documents  had  been  left  at  this 
point  by  previous  searching  parties.  None  having  been  found,  they  prepared 
to  return  ;  but  to  their  dismay  they  now  found  the  inlet  so  blocked  with  ice  as 
to  render  it  absolutely  impossible  to  reach  the  vessel  either  by  boat  or  on  foot. 
Darkness  was  fast  closing  round  them,  the  ice-floe  on  which  they  stood  threaten- 
ed every  instant  to  be  shivered  in  fragments  by  the  contending  ice-blocks  which 


ARCTIC   VOYAGES,  FROM  BAFFIN   TO   M'CLINTOCK.  359 

crashed  furiously  against  it:  unless  they  instantly  returned  to  shore,  any  mo- 
ment might  prove  their  last.  A  bitter  cold  night  (September  10, 1851),  with 
no  shelter  but  their  boat,  under  which  each  man  in  turn  took  an  hour's  rest — the 
others,  fatigued  as  they  were,  seeking  safety  in  brisk  exercise — w^as  spent  on 
this  inhospitable  shore,  and  on  the  following  morning  they  discovered  that  the 
ship  had  disappeared.  The  drift-ice  had  carried  her  away,  leaving  Kennedy 
and  his  companions  to  brave  the  winter  as  well  as  they  could,  and  to  endeavor 
in  the  spring  to  rejoin  their  vessel,  which  must  have  drifted  down  the  inlet,  and 
was  most  likely  by  this  time  imprisoned  by  the  ice.  Fortunately  a  depot  of 
provisions,  left  by  Sir  James  Ross  at  Whaler  Point,  was  tolerably  near,  and 
finding  all  in  good  preservation,  they  began  to  fit  up  a  launch,  which  had  been 
left  at  the  same  place  as  the  stores,  for  a  temporary  abode.  Here  they  sat,  on 
October  1 7,  round  a  cheerful  fire,  manufacturing  winter  garments  and  complete- 
ly resigned  to  their  lot,  when  suddenly,  to  their  inexpressible  joy,  they  heard  the 
sound  of  well-known  voices,  and  Lieutenant  Bellot,  the  second  m  command  of 
the  "  Prince  Albert,"  appeared  with  a  party  of  seven  men.  Twice  before  had 
this  gallant  French  volunteer  made  unavailing  attempts  to  reach  the  deserted 
party,  who  soon  forgot  their  past  misery  as  they  accompanied  their  friends  back 
to  the  ship.  In  the  following  spring  Kennedy  and  Bellot  explored  North 
Somerset  and  Prince  of  Wales'  Land,  traversing  with  their  sledge  1100  miles 
of  desert,  but  without  discovering  the  least  traces  of  Franklin  or  his  comrades. 
Yet  in  spite  of  these  frequent  disappointments  the  searching  expeditions  were 
not  given  over,  and  as  Wellington  Channel  and  the  sounds  to  the  north  of  Baf- 
fin's Bay  appeared  to  offer  the  best  chances,  the  spring  of  1852  witnessed  the 
departure  of  Sir  Edward  Belcher  and  Captain  Inglefield*  for  those  still  unknown 
regions. 

The  voyage  of  the  latter  proved  one  of  the  most  successful  in  the  annals  of 
Arctic  navigation.  Boldly  pushing  up  Smith's  Sound,which  had  hitherto  bafiled 
every  research,  Inglefield  examined  this  noble  channel  as  far  as  78°  30'  N.  lat., 
when  stormy  weather  drove  him  back.  He  next  attempted  Jones's  Sound,  and 
entered  it  sufticiently  to  see  it  expand  into  a  wide  channel  to  the  northward. 

The  squadron  which  sailed  under  the  command  of  Sir  Edward  Belcher  was 
charged  with  the  double  mission  of  prosecuting  the  discoveries  in  Wellington 
Channel,  and  of  affording  assistance  to  Collinson  and  M'Clure,  who,  it  will  be 
remembered,  had  sailed  in  1850  to  Bering's  Straits. 

At  Beechey  Island,  where  the  "  North  Star  "  was  stationed  as  depot-ship,  the 
squadron  separated.  Belcher  proceeding  with  the  "  Assistance  "  and  the  "  Pio- 
neer "  up  Wellington  Channel,  while  Kellett,  with  the  "  Resolute  "  and  "  Intrep- 
id," steered  to  the  west.  Scarcely  had  the  latter  reached  his  winter-quarters 
(September  7, 1852)  at  Dealy  Island,  on  the  south  coast  of  Melville  Island,  when 


1852.  "  Isabel,"  Captain  E.  Inglefield.     Lady  Franklin's  vessel. 

1852-1854.  "Assistance,"  Sir  Edward  Belcher,  to  Lancaster  Sound,  Wellini^ton  Channel. 

1852-1854.  "  Kesolute, "  Captain  Kellett,  Lancaster  Strait,  Melville,  and  lianlvs's  Island. 

1852-1854.  "  Pioneer,"  Lieutenant  Sherard  Osborne. 

1852-1854.  "Intrepid,'' Captain  M'Clintocli. 

1852-1854.  "North  Star," Captain  rullen. 


3G0  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

parties  were  sent  out  to  deposit  provisions  at  various  points  of  tlie  coast,  for  the 
sledge  parties  in  the  ensuing  spring. 

The  difficulties  of  transport  over  the  brolcen  surface  of  the  desert  when  de- 
nuded of  snow  may  be  esthnated  from  the  fact,  that  though  the  distance  from' 
the  north  to  the  south  coast  of  Melville  Island  is  no  more  than  tMrty-six  miles 
in  a  direct  line.  Lieutenant  M'Clintock  required  no  less  than  nineteen  days  to 
reach  the  Hecla  and  Griper  Gulf.  Similar  difficulties  awaited  Lieutenant 
Median  on  his  way  to  Liddon  Gulf,  but  he  was  amply  rewarded  by  finding  at 
Winter  Harbor  dispgitches  from  M'Clure,  showing  that,  in  April,  1851,  the  "In- 
vestigator "  was  lying  in  Mercy  Bay,  on  the  opposite  side  of  Banks's  Strait,  and 
that  consequently  the  north-west  passage,  the  object  of  so  many  heroic  efforts, 
was  at  last  discovered. 

On  March  9, 1853,  the  "  Resolute"  opened  her  spring  campaign  with  Lieu- 
tenant Pym's  sledge  journey  to  Mercy  Bay,  to  bring  assistance  to  M'Clure,  or 
to  follow  his  traces  in  case  he  should  no  longer  be  there. 

A  month  later  three  other  sledge  expeditions  left  the  ship.  The  one  under 
M'Clintock  proceeded  from  the  Ilecla  and  Griper  Gulf  to  the  west,  and  return- 
ed after  one  hundred  and  six  days,  having  explored  1200  miles  of  coast — a 
sledge  journey  without  a  parallel  m  the  history  of  Arctic  research,  though  near- 
ly equalled  by  the  second  party  under  Lieutenant  Mechani,  which  likewise  start- 
ed to  the  west  from  Liddon  Gulf,  and  travelled  over  a  thousand  miles  in  nine- 
ty-three days.  The  third  party,  under  Lieutenant  Hamilton,  which  proceeded 
to  the  north-east  towards  the  rendezvous  appointed  by  Sir  Edward  Belcher  the 
preceding  summer,  was  the  first  that  returned  to  the  ship,  but  before  its  arrival 
another  party  had  found  its  Avay  to  the  "Resolute" — pale,  worn,  emaciated 
figures,  slowly  creeping  along  over  the  uneven  ice.  A  stranger  might  have 
been  surprised  at  the  thundering  hurrahs  which  hailed  the  ragged  troop  from 
a  distance,  or  at  the  warm  and  cordial  greetings  which  welcomed  them  on  deck, 
but  no  wonder  that  M'Clure  and  his  heroic  crew  Avere  thus  received  by  their 
fellow-seamen  after  a  three  years'  imprisonment  in  the  ice  of  the  Polar  Sea. 

On  August  1,  1850,  the  "Investigator,"  long  since  separated  from  her  con- 
sort, the  "  Enterprise,"  had  met  the  "  Herald  "  and  "  Plover  "*  at  Cape  Lisburne, 
beyond  Bering's  Straits,  and  now  plunged  alone  into  the  unknown  wildernesses 
of  the  Arctic  Ocean.  She  reached  the  coast  of  Banks's  Land  on  September  6, 
discovered  Prince  Albert  Land  on  the  9th,  and  then  sailed  up  Prince  of  Wales' 
Strait,  Avhere,  on  October  9,  she  froze  in  for  the  winter.  In  the  same  month, 
however,  a  sledge  expedition  was  sent  to  the  northern  extremity  of  the  strait, 
which  established  the  fact  of  its  communication  with  Parry  Sound  and  Barrow's 
Strait.  In  the  following  July  the  "  Investigator,"  though  set  free,  was  prevent- 
ed from  penetrating  into  the  sound  by  impassable  barriers  of  ice.  IsTothing 
now  remained  but  to  return  to  the  southern  extremity  of  -the  strait,  and  then  to 
advance  along  the  Avest  coast  of  Banks's  Land  to  the  north.  This  course  was  fol- 
lowed with  tolerable  ease  till  August  20,  when  the  ship  was  driven  between  the 
ice  and  the  beach  a  little  north  of  Prince  Albert  Cape.     Here  she  lay  in  compar- 

*  Tliesc  two  vessels  had  l.een  sent  in  the  year  1847  to  the  Polar  Sea  beyond  Bering's  Straits,  when 
they  discovered  the  "Herald"  and  "Plover"  Islands. 


ARCTIC   VOYAGES,  FROM  BAFFIN  TO  M'CLINTOCK.  361 

ative  safety  till  the  29tli,  when  the  immense  floe  to  which  she  was  attached  was 
raised  edgeways  out  of  the  water,  from  the  pressure  of  surrounding  ice,  and 
lifted  perpendicularly  some  twenty-five  feet.  The  slightest  additional  pressure 
would  have  thi-own  the  delicately-poised  vessel  entirely  over,  but  fortunately  a 
large  piece  from  underneath  was  rent  away,  and  after  one  or  two  frightful  os- 
cillations the  floe  righted  itself  and' drifted  onward,  bearing  the  ship  unharmed 
upon  its  course. 

During  the  succeeding  month,  every  day  brought  its  perils.  Now  forced 
ashore  by  the  pressure  of  the  ice,  now  hurried  along  amidst  its  inclosing  masses, 
the  adventurers,  slowly  working  their  way  along  the  north  coast  of  Banks's 
Land,  at  length  found  refuge  in  a  harbor  to  which  the  appropriate  name  of 
Mercy  Bay  was  thankfully  given.  Here  they  spent  two  winters — the  interven- 
ing summer  having  failed  to  release  the  ship.  In  the  spring  of  1853  Lieuten- 
ant Pym  brought  them  the  joyful  news  that  the  "Resolute  "  was  not  far  off. 
Such  had  been  the  adventures  of  M'Clure  up  to  the  moment  when  Kellett  wel- 
comed him  on  board. 

Meanwhile  neither  the  sledge  parties  of  the  "  Resolute,"  nor  those  which  Sir 
Edward  Belcher  had  sent  out  in  all  directions  from  his  first  Avintei'-quarters  in 
Northumberland  Sound  (Y6°  52'  N.  lat.),  on  the  west  side  of  Grinnell  Peninsula, 
had  been  able  to  discover  the  least  traces  of  Franklin.  The  winter  (1853-54) 
passed,  and  in  the  following  April  Lieutenant  Mecham  found  in  Prince  of  Wales' 
Strait,  and  later  on  Ramsay  Island,  at  its  southern  outlet,  documents  from  Col- 
linson,  bearing  date  August  27,  1852,  and  giving  full  intelligence  ol  his  pro- 
ceedings since  his  separation  from  the  "  Investigator."  While  M'Clure  was 
achieving  in  1850  the  discovery  of  the  north-west  passage,  CoUinson,  having 
arrived  in  Bering's  Straits  later  in  the  season,  was  unable  to  double  Point  Bar- 
row. In  1851,  however,  he  succeeded  in  getting  round  that  projection,  and  pur- 
suing the  continental  channel  as  easily  as  his  precursor  had  done,  followed  him 
through  Prince  of  Wales'  Strait ;  but,  though  he  penetrated  a  few  miles  farther 
into  Melville  Sound,  he  found  no  passage,  and  returning  to  the  south  end  of  the 
strait  passed  the  winter  of  1851-52  in  Walker  Bay.  Next  summer  he  carri'ed 
his  ship  through  Dolphin  and  Union  Straits  and  Dease  Strait  to  Cambridge 
Bay,  where  he  spent  his  second  winter  (1852-53).  His  sledge  parties  explored 
the  west  side  of  Victoria  Strait,  but  a  deficiency  of  coals  compelled  him  to  re- 
turn the  way  he  came,  instead  of  attempting  to  force  a  pissage  through  the 
channel.  He  did  not,  however,  get  round  Barrow  Point  on  his  return  without 
passing  a  third  winter  on  the  "northern  coast  of  America. 

On  returning  to  the  "  Resolute,"  Lieutenant  Mecham  found  all  hands  busy 
preparing  to  leave  the  ship.  Sir  E.  Belcher  having  given  orders  to  abandon  her, 
as  Avell  as  the  "  Assistance,"  "  Pioneer,"  and  "  Intrepid,"  which  had  now  been 
blocked  up  above  a  year  in  the  ice,  and  had  no  chance  of  escaping. 

Thus  the  summer  of  1854  witnessed  the  return  to  England  of  the  "North 
Star,"  with  all  those  brave  crews  which  had  spent  so  many  unavaihng  efforts, 
and  in  numerous  boat  and  sledge  excursions  had  explored  so  many  known 
and  unknown  coasts  in  search  of  Franklin;  and  thus  also  M'Clure  and  his  com- 
rades, abandoning  the  "  Investigator  "  in  Mercy  Bay,  returned  home  through 


363  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

Davis's  Straits,  after  having  entered  the  Polar  Ocean  at  the  Strait  of  Bering. 
He  had,  however,  been  }3reccded  by  Lieutenant  Cresswell  and  Mr.  Wyuniat, 
who,  on  an  excursion  to  Beech ey  Island  in  the  summer  of  1858,  had  there  met 
with  and  joined  the  "  Phoenix,"  Captain  Inglefield,  who,  accompanied  by  his 
friend  Lieutenant  Bellot,  had  conveyed  provisions  to  Sir  E.  Belcher's  squadron, 
and  Avas  about  to  return  to  England.  During  this  expedition  Bellot,  whose 
many  excellent  qualities  had  made  him  a  universal  favorite,  was 'unfortunately 
drowned  by  a  fall  into  an  ice-crevice  during  a  sledge  excursion.  A  stone  monu- 
ment erected  before  Greenwich  Hospital  reminds  England  of  the  gallant  volun- 
teer whose  name  is  gloriously  linked  with  that  of  Franklin  in  Arctic  history. 

Years  had  thus  passed  without  bringing  any  tidings  of  the  "  Erebus  "  and 
"  Terror  "  since  the  discovery  of  their  first  winter-quarters,  until  at  last,  in  the 
spring  of  1854,  Dr.  Rae,  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  while  engaged  in  the 
survey  of  the  Boothian  isthmus,  fell  in  with  a  party  of  Esquimaux,  who  inform- 
ed him  that  in  the  spring  of  1850  some  of  their  countrymen  on  King  William's 
Island  had  seen  a  party  of  white  men  making  their  way  to  the  mainland.  None 
of  them  could  speak  the  Esquimaux  language  intelligibly,  but  by  signs  they 
gave  them  to  imderstand  that  their  ships  had  been  crushed  by  ice,  and  that 
they  were  now  going  to  where  they  expected  to  find  deer  to  shoot.  At  a 
later  date  of  the  same  season,  but  before  the  breaking  up  of  the  ice,  the  bodies 
of  some  thirty  men  were  discovered  on  the  continent  a  day's  journey  from 
Back's  Great  Fish  River,  and  five  on  an  island  near  it.  Some  of  the  bodies 
had  been  buried  (probably  those  of  the  first  victims  of  famine),  some  were  in  a 
tent,  others  under  the  boat  which  had  been  turned  over  to  form  a  shelter,  and 
several  lay  scattered  about  in  different  directions.  Of  those  found  on  the  island, 
one  was  supposed  to  have  been  an  ofiicei-,  as  he  had  a  telescope  strapped  over 
his  shoulder,  and  his  double-barrelled  gun  lay  underneath  him.  The  mutilated 
condition  of  several  of  the  corpses  and  the  contents  of  the  kettles  left  no  doubt 
that  our  wretched  countrymen  had  been  driven  to  the  last  resource  of  canni- 
balism, as  a  means  of  prolonging  existence.  Some  silver  spoons  and  forks,  a 
rotmd  silver  plate,  engraved  "  Sir  John  Franklin,  K.C.B.,"  a  star  or  order,  with 
the  motto, "  Nee  aspera  terrent,"  which  Dr.  Rae  purchased  of  the  Esquimaux, 
corroborated  the  truth  of  their  narrative. 

Thus  it  was  now  known  how  part  of  the  unfortunate  mariners  had  perished, 
but  the  fate  of  the  expedition  was  still  enveloped  in  mystery.  "What  had  be- 
come of  the  ships  and  of  the  greater  part  of  their  crews  ?  And  was  Franklin 
one  of  the  party  seen  by  the  Esquimaux,  or  had  an  earlier  death  shortened  his 
sufferings  ? 

To  solve  at  least  this  mournful  secret — for  every  hope  that  he  might  still 
be  alive  had  long  since  vanished — his  noble  widow  resolved  to  spend  all  her 
available  means — since  Government  would  no  longer  prosecute  the  search — 
and  with  the  assistance  of  her  friends,  but  mostly  at  her  own  expense,  fitted 
out  a  small  screw  steamer,  the  "  Fox,"  which  the  gallant  M'CHntock,  already 
distinguished  in  perilous  Polar  voyages,  volunteered  to  command.  Another 
Arctic  officer.  Lieutenant  Hobson,  likewise  came  forward  to  serve  without  pay. 

At  first  it  seemed  as  if  all  the  elements  had  conspired  against  the  success  of 


ARCTIC   VOYAGES,  FROM  BAFFIN   TO   M'CLINTOCK.  363 

this  work  of  piety,  for  in  the  summer  of  1857  the  floating  ice  off  Melville  Bay, 
on  the  coast  of  Greenland,  seized  the  "  Fox,"  and  after  a  dreary  winter,  various 
narrow  escapes,  and  eight  months  of  imprisonment,  carried  her  back  nearly 
1200  geographical  miles,  even  to  63|-°  N.  lat.  in  the  Atlantic. 

At  length,  on  April  25,  1858,  the  "  Fox"  got  free,  and,  having  availed  her- 
self of  the  scanty  stores  and  provisions  which  the  small  Danish  settlement  of 
Holstenburg  afforded,  sailed  into  Barrow  Strait.  Finding  Franklin  Channel 
obstructed  with  ice,  she  then  turned  back,  and  steaming  up  Prince  Regent's 
Inlet,  arrived  at  the  eastern  opening  of  Bellot's  Strait.  Here  the  passage  to 
the  west  was  again  found  blocked  with  ice,  and  after  five  ineffectual  attempts 
to  pass,  the  "  Fox  "  at  length  took  up  her  winter-quarters  in  Port  Kennedy,  on 
the  northern  side  of  the  strait. 

On  his  first  sledge  excursion  in  the  following  spring,  M'Clintock  met  at 
Cape  Victoria,  on  the  south-west  coast  of  Boothia,  with  a  party  of  Esquimaux, 
who  informed  him  that  some  years  back  a  large  ship  had  been  crushed  by  the 
ice  out  in  the  sea  to  the  west  of  King  William's  Island,  but  that  all  the  people 
landed  safely. 

Meeting  with  the  same  Esquimaux  on  April  20,  he  learned,  after  much  anx- 
ious inquiry,  that  besides  the  ship  which  had  been  seen  to  sink  in  deep  water, 
a  second  one  had  been  forced  on  shore  by  the  ice,  where  they  supposed  it  still 
remained,  but  much  broken.  They  added  that  it  was  in  the  fall  of  the  year — 
that  is,  August  or  September — when  the  ships  were  destroyed ;  that  all  the 
white  people  went  away  to  the  Great  Fish  River,  taking  a  boat  or  boats  with 
them,  and  that  in  the  following  winter  their  bones  were  found  there. 

These  first  indications  of  the  fate  of  Franklin's  expedition  were  soon  fol- 
lowed by  others.  On  May  7  M'Clintock  heard  from  an  old  Esquimaux  woman 
on  King  Wilham's  Island  that  many  of  the  white  men  dropped  by  the  way  as 
they  went  to  the  Great  River;  that  some  were  buried,  and  some  were  not. 
They  did  not  themselves  witness  this,  but  discovered  their  bodies  during  the 
winter  following. 

Visiting  the  shore  along  which  the  retreating  crews  must  have  marched,  he 
came,  shortly  after  midnight  of  May  25,  when  slowly  walking  along  a  gravel 
ridge  near  the  beach,  which  the  winds  kept  partially  bare  of  snow,  upon  a  hu- 
man skeleton,  partly  exposed,  with  here  and  there  a  few  fragments  of  clothing 
appearing  through  the  snow. 

"  A  most  careful  examination  of  the  spot,"  says  M'Clintock,  "  Avas  of  course 
made,  the  snow  removed,  and  every  scrap  of  clothing  gathered  up.  A  pocket- 
book,  which  being  frozen  hard  could  not  be  examined  on  the  spot,  afforded 
strong  grounds  for  hope  that  some  information  might  be  subsequently  obtained 
respecting  the  owner,  and  the  march  of  the  lost  crews.  The  victim  was  a 
young  man,  slightly  built,  and  perhaps  above  the  common  height ;  the  dress 
appeared  to  be  that  of  a  steward.  The  poor  man  seems  to  have  selected  the 
bare  ridge  top,  as  affording  the  least  tiresome  walking,  and  to  have  fallen  upon 
his  face  in  the  position  in  which  we  found  him.  It  was  a  melancholy  truth 
that  the  old  woman  spake  when  she  said, '  They  fell  down  and  died  as  they 
walked  along.' " 


364  THE  POLAR   WORLD. 

Meanwhile  Lieutenant  Hobson,  who  was  exploring  with  another  sledge  par- 
ty the  nortli-western  coast  of  King  William's  Land,  had  made  the  still  more 
important  discovery  of  a  record  giving  a  laconic  account  of  the  Franklin  ex- 
pedition up  to  the  time  when  the  ships  were  lost  and  abandoned.  It  was  found 
on  May  6  in  a  large  cairn  at  Point  Victory.  It  stated  briefly  that  in  1845  the 
"  Erebus"  and  "  Terror"  had  ascended  Wellington  Channel  to  lat.  TT",  and  re- 
turned by  the  west  side  of  Cornwallis  Island  to  Beechey  Island,  where  they 
spent  the  first  winter.  In  1846  they  proceeded  to  the  south- Avest,  through  Peel 
Sound  and  Franklin  Sound,  and  eventually  reached  within  twelve  miles  of  the 
north  extremity  of  King  William's  Land,  when  their  progress  was  arrested  by 
the  ice.  Sir  John  Franklin  died  on  June  11,  1847,  having  completed — two 
months  before  his  death— the  sixty-first  year  of  an  active,  eventful,  and  honor- 
able life.  On  April  22,  1848,  the  ships  were  deserted,  having  been  beset  since 
September  12, 1846.  The  ofiicers  and  crew,  consisting  of  105  souls,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Crozier,  landed  with  the  intention  of  starting  for  Back's 
Fish  Tiiver,  w^hich,  as  we  have  seen,  they  were  never  destined  to  reach. 

Quantities  of  clothing  and  articles  of  all  kinds  were  found  lying  about  the 
cairn,  as  if  these  men,  aware  that  they  were  retreating  for  their  lives,  had  then 
abandoned  every  thing  which  they  considered  superfluous. 

Thus  all  doubts  about  Sir  John  Franklin's  fate  were  at  length  removed.  He 
at  least  had  died  on  board  his  ship,  and  been  spared  the  miserable  end  of  his 
comrades  as  they  fell  one  by  one  in  the  dreary  wilderness. 

The  two  wrecks  have  disai)peared  without  leaving  a  trace  behind.  A  sin- 
gle document,  some  coins  and  pieces  of  plate — this  is  all  that  remains  of  the 
gallant  ships  which  so  hopefully  sailed  forth  under  one  of  the  noblest  seamen 
that  ever  sei'ved  in  the  navy  of  Great  Britain. 

It  is  a  curious  circumstance  that  Franklin's  ships  perished  within  sight  of 
the  headlands  named  Cape  Franklin  and  Cape  Jane  Franklin  by  their  discov- 
erer, Sir  James  Ross,  eighteen  years  before. 


KANE  AKD   HAYES.  365 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

KANE  AND  HAYES. 

Kane  sails  up  Smith's  Sound  in  the  "  Advance  "  (1853).— Winters  in  Rensselaer  Bay.— Sledge  Journey 
along  the  Coast  of  Greenland. —The  Three-brother  Turrets.— Tennyson's  Monument.— The  Great 
Humboldt  Glacier. — Dr.  Hayes  cross'es  Kennedy'  Channel.  —  Morton's  Discovery  of  Washington 
Land. — Mount  Parry. — Kane  resolves  upon  a  second  Wintering  in  Rensselaer  Bay. — Departure  and 
Return  of  Part  of  the  Crew.— Sufferings  of  the  Winter.— The  Ship  abandoned.— Boat  Journey  to 
Upernavik.- Kane's  Death  in  the  Havana  (1857).— Dr.  Hayes's  Voyage  in  I860.— He  winters  at 
Port  Foulke. — Crosses  Kennedy  Channel. — Reaches  Cape  Union,  the  most  northern  known  Land 
upon  the  Globe.— Koldewey.— Plans  for  future  Voyages  to  the  North  Pole. 

IN"  point  of  dramatic  interest,  few  of  .the  Arctic  expeditions  can  rival  the  sec- 
ond and  last  voyage  of  Dr.  Kane,  which,  to  avoid  interrupting  the  narrative 
of  the  discovery  of  Franklin's  fate  by  Dr.  Rae  and  Sir  James  M'Clintock,  I 
have  refrained  from  mentioning  in  chronological  order. 

Weak  in  body,  but  great  in  mind,  this  remarkable  man,  who  had  accompa- 
nied the  first  Grinnell  expedition  in  the  capacity  of  surgeon,  sailed  from  Boston 
in  1853,  as  commander  of  the  "Advance,"  with  a  crew  of  17  officers  and  men, 
to  which  two  Greenlanders  were  subsequently  added.  His  plan  was  to  pass  up 
Baffin's  Bay  to  its  most  northern  attainable  point,  and  thence  pressing  on 
towards  the  pole  as  far  as  boats  or  sledges  could  reach,  to  examine  the  coast- 
lines for  vestiges  of  Franklin. 

Battling  with  storms  and  icebergs,  he  passed,  on  August  7,  1853,  the  rocky 
portals  of  Smith's  Sound,  Cape  Isabella  and  Cape  Alexander,  which  had  been 
discovered  the  year  before  by  Inglefield ;  left  Cape  Hatherton — the  extreme 
point  attained  by  that  navigator — behind,  and  after  many  narrow  escapes  from 
shipwreck,  secured  the  "  Advance  "  in  Rensselaer  Bay,  from  which  she  Avas  des- 
tined never  to  emerge.  His  diary  gives  us  a  vivid  account  of  the  first  winter 
he  spent  in  this  haven,  in  lat.  1S°  38',  almost  as  far  to  the  north  as  the  most 
northern  extremity  of  Spitzbergen,  and  in  a  far  more  rigorous  climate. 

"/Se2)t.  10,  -f  14°  F. — The  birds  have  left.  The  sea-swallows,  which  abound- 
ed when  we  first  reached  here,  and  even  the  young  burgomasters  that  lingered 
after  them,  have  all  taken  their  departure  for  the  south.  The  long  "  night  in 
which  no  man  can  work  "  is  close  at  hand  ;  in  another  montli  we  shall  lose  the 
sun.  Astronomically,  he  should  disappear  on  October  24,  if  our  horizon  were 
free ;  but  it  is  obstructed  by  a  mountain  ridge ;  and,  making  all  allowance  for 
refraction,  we  can  not  coimt  on  seeing  him  after  the  10th. 

"Sept.  11. — The  long  staring  day,  which  has  clung  to  us  for  more  than  two 
months,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  stars,  has  begun  to  intermit  its  brightness. 
Even  Aldebaran,  the  red  eye  of  the  bull,  flared  out  into  familiar  recollection 
as  early  as  ten  o'clock ;  and  the  heavens,  though  still  somewhat  reddened  by  the 
gaudy  tints  of  midnight,  gave  us  Capella  and  Arcturus,  and  even  that  lesser 


ma  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

light  of  lionie  ]nemories,  the  polar  star.  Stretching  my  neck  to  look  uncom- 
fortably at  the  indication  of  our  extreme  northernness,  it  Avas  hard  to  realize 
that  he  was  not  directly  overhead ;  and  it  made  me  sigh  as  I  measured  the  few 
degrees  of  distance  that  sej^arated  our  zenith  from  the  pole  over  which  he  hung. 

"  Oct.  28. — The  moon  has  reached  her  greatest  northern  declination  of  about 
25°  35',  She  is  a  glorious  object ;  sweeping  around  the  heavens,  at  the  lowest 
])art  of  her  curve,  she  is  still  14°  above  the  horizon.  For  eight  days  she  has 
been  making  her  circuit  with  nearly  unvarying  brightness.  It  is  one  of  those 
sjiarkliug  nights  that  bring  back  the  memory  of  sleigh-bells  and  songs,  and 
glad  communings  of  hearts  in  lands  that  are  far  away. 

"  JVov.  1. — The  darkness  is  coming  on  with  insidious  steadiness,  and  its  ad- 
vances can  only  be  perceived  by  comparing  one  day  with  its  fellow  of  some 
time  back.  We  still  read  the  thermometer  at  noonday  without  a  light,  and  the 
black  masses  of  the  hills  are  plain  for  about  five  hours,  with  their  glaring  patch- 
es of  snow;  but  all  the  rest  is  darkness.  The  stars  of  the  sixth  magnitude 
shine  out  at  noonday.  Except  upon  the  island  of  Spitzbergen,  which  has  the 
advantages  of  an  insular  climate,  and  tempered  by  ocean  currents,  no  Chris- 
tians have  wintered  in  so  high  a  latitude  as  this.*  They  are  Russian  sailors 
who  made  the  encounter  there — men  inured  to  hardships  and  cold.  Our  dark- 
ness has  ninety  days  to  run  before-  we  shall  get  back  again  even  to  the  con- 
tested twilight  of  to-day.  Altogether  our  winter  will  have  been  sunless  for  one 
hundred  aTid  forty  days. 

"j.Vby.  9. — Wishing  to  get  the  altitude  of  the  cliffs  on  the  south-west  cape 
of  our  bay  before  the  darkness  set  in  thoroughly,  I  started  in  time  to  reach 
them  with  ray  Newfoundlanders  at  noonday,  the  thermometer  indicating  23° 
below  zero.  Fireside  astronomers  can  hardly  realize  the  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  observations  at  such  low  temperatures.  The  breath,  and  even  the  warmth 
of  the  face  and  body,  cloud  the  sextant-arc  and  glasses  with  a  fine  hoar-frost. 
It  is,  moreover,  an  unusual  feat  to  measure  a  base-line  in  the  snow  at  55°  below 
freezing. 

"^Yof.  21. — We  have  schemes  innumerable  to  cheat  the  monotonous  soli- 
tude of  our  Avinter— a  fancy  ball ;  a  newspaper, '  The  Ice  Blink ;'  a  fox-chase 
round  the  decks. 

"Bee.  15. — We  have  lost  the  last  vestige  of  our  midday  twilight.  We  can 
not  see  print,  and  hardly  paper ;  the  fingers  can  not  be  counted  a  foot  from 
the  eyes.  Noonday  and  midnight  are  alike ;  and,  except  a  vague  glimmer  in 
the  sky  that  seems  to  define  the  hill  outlines  to  the  south,  we  have  nothing  to 
tell  us  that  this  Arctic  world  of  ours  has  a  sun.  In  the  darkness,  and  consequent 
inaction,  it  is  almost  in  vain  that  we  seek  to  create  topics  of  thought,  and,  by  a 
forced  excitement,  to  ward  off:  the  encroachments  of  disease. 

"J'an.  21. — First  traces  of  returning  light,  the  southern  horizon  having  for 
a  short  time  a  distinct  orange  tinge. 

"Feb.  21. — We  have  had  the  sun  for  some  days  silvering  the  ice  between 
the  headlands  of  the  bay,  and  to-day,  towards  noon,  I  started  out  to  be  the 

*  Rensselaer  Harbor  is  situated  1°  46'  higher  than  Sir  E.  Belcher's  winter-quarters  in  Northumber- 
land Sound,  76°  52'. 


KANE  AND    HAYES.  367 

first  of  my  party  to  welcome  liim  back.  It  was  the  longest  walk  and  toughest 
climb  that  I  have  had  since  our  imprisonment,  and  scurvy  and  general  debility 
have  made  me  '  short  o'  wind.'  But  I  managed  to  attain  my  object.  I  saw  him 
once  more,  and  upon  a  projecting  crag  nestled  in  the  sunshine.  It  was  like  bath- 
ing in  perfumed  water." 

Thus  this  terrible  winter  night  drew  to  its  end,  and  the  time  came  for  un- 
dertaking the  sledge  journeys,  on  which  the  success  of  the  expedition  mainly 
depended.  Unfortunately,  of  the  nine  magnificent  Newfovmdlanders  and  the 
thirty-five  Esquimaux  dogs  originally  possessed  by  Kane,  only  six  had  survived 
an  epizootic  malady  which  raged  among  them  during  the  winter :  their  num- 
ber was,  however,  increased  by  some  new  purchases  from  the  Esquimaux  who 
visited  the  ship  at  the  beginning  of  April. 

Thus  scantily  provided  with  the  means  of  transport,  Kane,  though  in  a  very 
weak  condition,  set  out  on  April  25,  1854,  to  force  his  way  to  the  north.  He 
found  the  Greenland  coast  beyond  Rensselaer  Bay  extremely  picturesque,  the 
cliffs  rising  boldly  from  the  shore-line  to  a  height  of  sometimes  more  than  a 
thousand  feet,  and  exhibiting  every  freak  and  caprice  of  architectural  ruin.  Iii 
one  spot  the  sloping  rubbish  at  the  foot  of  the  coast-wall  led  up,  like  an  artifi- 
cial causeway,  to  a  gorge  that  was  streaming  at  noonday  with  the  southern  sun, 
while  everywhere  else  the  rock  stood  oiit  in  the  blackest  shadow.  Just  at  the 
edge  of  this  bright  opening  rose  the  dreamy  semblance  of  a  castle,  flanked  Avith 
triple  towers,  completely  isolated  and  defined.  These  were  called  the  "  Three- 
brother  Turrets." 

"  Farther  on,  to  the  north  of  latitude  19°,  a  single  cliff  of  greenstone  rears 
itself  from  a  crumbled  base  of  sandstone,  like  the  boldly-chiselled  rampart  of  an 
ancient  city.  At  its  northern  extremity,  at  the  brink  of  a  deep  ravine  which 
has  worn  its  way  among  the  ruins,  there  stands  a  solitary  column  or  minaret 
tower,  as  sharply  finished  as  if  it  had  been  cast  for  the  Place  Yendome.  Yet 
the  length  of  the  shaft  alone  is  480  feet,  and  it  rises  on  a  pedestal,  itself  280 
feet  high.  I  remember  well  the  emotions  of  my  party,  as  it  first  bj'oke  upon 
our  view.  Cold  and  sick  as  I  was,  I  brought  back  a  sketch  of  it  which  may 
have  interest  for  the  reader,  though  it  scarcely  suggests  the  imposing  dignity 
of  this  magnificent  landmark.  Those  who  are  happily  familiar  with  the  wi"it- 
ings  of  Tennyson,  and  have  communed  with  his  spirit  in  the  solitudes  of  a 
wilderness,  will  apprehend  the  impulse  that  inscribed  the  scene  with  his 
name." 

But  no  rock  formation,  however  striking  or  impressive,  equalled  in  grandeur 
the  magnificent  glacier  to  which  Kane  has  given  the  name  of  Humboldt.  Its 
solid  glassy  wall,  diminishing  to  a  well-pointed  wedge  in  the  perspective,  rises 
300  feet  above  the  Avater-level,  with  an  unknown,  unfathomable  depth  below  it 
and  its  curved  face  sixty  miles  in  length — from  Cape  Agassiz  to  Cape  Forbes 
— vanishes  into  unknown  space  at  not  more  than  a  single  day's  railroad  travel 
from  the  pole. 

In  spite  of  the  snow,  which  had  so  accumulated  in  drifts  that  the  travellers 
were  forced  to  unload  their  sledges  and  carry  forward  the  cai'go  on  their  backs, 
beating  a  path  for  the  dogs  to  follow  in,  Kane  came  in  sight  of  the  Great  Gla- 


368  THE  POLAR  WOP.LD. 

cier  on  May  4  ;  but  this  progress  was  dearly  earned,  as  it  cost  liim  the  last 
remnant  of  his  strengtli. 

"  I  was  seized  with  a  sudden  j^ain,"  says  the  intrepid  explorer,  "  and  fainted, 
Mv  limbs  became  rigid,  and  certain  obscure  tetanoid  symptoms  of  our  winter 
enemy,  the  scurvy,  disclosed  themselves.  I  was  strapped  upon  the  sledge,  and 
the  march  continued  as  usual,  but  my  powers  diminished  so  rapidly  that  I  could 
not  resist  the  otherwise  comfortable  temperature  of  5°  below  zero.  My  left 
foot  becoramg  frozen  caused  a  vexatious  delay,  and  the  same  night  it  became 
evident  that  the  immovability  of  my  limbs  was  due  to  dropsical  effusion.  On 
the  5th,  becoming  delirious  and  fainting  every  time  that  I  was  taken  from  the 
tent  to  the  sledge,  I  succumbed  entirely.  My  comrades  would  kindly  persuade 
me  that,  even  had  I  continued  sound,  we  could  not  have  proceeded  on  our  jour- 
ney. The  snows  were  very  heavy,  and  increasing  as  we  went ;  some  of  the 
drifts  perfectly  impassable,  and  the  level  floes  often  four  feet  deep  in  yielding 
snow. 

"  The  scurvy  had  already  broken  out  among  the  men,  with  symptoms  like 
my  own,  and  Morton,  our  strongest  man,  was  beginning  to  give  way.  It  is  the 
reverse  of  comfort  to  me  that  they  shared  my  weakness.  All  that  I  should  re- 
member with  pleasurable  feeling  is  that  to  my  brave  companions,  themselves 
scarcely  able  to  travel,  I  owe  my  preservation. 

"  They  carried  me  back  by  forced  marches,  I  was  taken  into  the  brig  on 
the  14th,  where  for  a  week  I  lay  fluctuating  between  life  and  death.  Dr.  Hayes 
regards  my  attack  as  one  of  scurvy,  complicated  by  typhoid  fever." 

Fortunately  summer  was  now  fast  approaching,  with  his  cheering  sunbeams 
and  his  genial  warmth.  The  seals  began  to  appear  on  the  coast  in  large  num- 
bers, and  there  was  now  no  want  of  fresh  meat,  the  chief  panacea  against  the 
scurvy.  The  snow-buntings  returned  to  the  ice-crusted  rocks,  and  the  gulls  and 
eider-ducks  came  winging  their  way  to  their  northern  breeding-places. 

Vegetation  likewise  sprang  into  life  with  marvellous  rapidity,  and  the  green 
sloping  banks  not  only  refreshed  the  eye,  but  yielded  juicy,  anti-scorbutic  herbs. 

Kane's  health  slowly  but  steadily  improved.  He  was,  however,  obliged  to 
give  up  all  further  sledge  excursions  for  the  season,  and  to  leave  the  execution 
of  his  plans  to  his  more  able-bodied  companions. 

Tims  Dr.  Hayes,  crossing  the  sound  in  a  north-easterly  direction,  reached 
the  opposite  coast  of  Grinnell  Land,  which  he  surveyed  as  far  as  Cape  Frazer 
in  lat,  79°  45'. 

This  journey  was  rendered  uncommonly  slow  and  tedious  by  the  excessively 
broken  and  rugged  character  of  the  ice.  Deep  cavities  filled  with  snow  inter- 
vened between  lines  of  hummocks  frequently  exceeding  twenty  or  thirty  feet  in 
height.  Over  these  the  sledge  had  to  be  lifted  by  main  strength,  and  it  re- 
quired the  most  painful  efforts  of  the  whole  party  to  liberate  it  from  the  snow 
between  them.  Dr.  Hayes  returned  on  June  1,  and  a  few  days  later  Morton 
left  tlie  brig,  to  survey  the  Greenland  coast  beyond  the  Great  Glacier.  The 
difficulties  were  great,  for,  besides  the  usual  impediments  of  hummocks,  the 
lateness  of  the  season  had  in  many  places  rendered  the  ice  extremely  unsafe,  or 
even  entirely  destroyed  the  ice-ledge  along  the  shore.     Thus  for  the  last  days  of 


KANE   AND    HAYES.  369 

his  onward  journey  he  was  obHged  to  toil  over  the  rocks  and  along  the  beach  of  a 
sea  which,  like  the  familiar  waters  of  the  south,  dashed  in  waves  at  his  feet. 
Morton  and  his  conipanion  Hans,  the  Esquimaux,  reached  on  June  26,1854, 
Cape  Constitution,  a  bold  headland,  where  the  surf  rolled  furiously  against  high 
overhanging  cliffs,  which  it  was  found  impossible  to  pass.  Climbing  from  rock 
to  rock,  in  hopes  of  doubling  the  promontory,  Morton  stood  at  this  termination 
of  his  journey,  and  from  a  height  of  300  feet  looked  out  upon  a  great  waste  of 
waters,  stretching  to  the  unknown  north.  Numerous  birds — sea-swallows,  kit- 
tiwakes,  brent-geese — mixed  their  discordant  notes  with  the  novel  music  of  dash- 
ing waves ;  and  among  the  flowering  plants  growing  on  the  rocks  was  found 
a  crucifer  {Hesperis  pygmoea),  the  dried  pods  of  which,  still  containing  seed, 
had  survived  the  wear  and  tear  of  wintei-.  From  Cape  Constitution  the  coast 
of  Washington  Land  trended  to  the  east,  but  far  to  the  north-west,  beyond  the 
open  waters  of  the  channel,  a  peak,  terminating  a  range  of  mountains  similar  in 
their  features  to  those  of  Spitzbergen,  was  seen  towering  to  a  height  of  from 
2500  to  3000  feet.  Tliis  peak,  the  most  remote  northern  land  at  that  time 
known  upon  our  globe,  received  the  name  of  Mount  Parry. 

Meanwhile  the  short  summer  was  wearing  on,  and,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  the  ice  remained  inflexibly  solid.  It  was  evident  that  many  days  must 
still  elapse  before  the  vessel  could  possibly  be  liberated — but  then  most  likely 
winter  would  almost  have  returned — a  dismal  prospect  for  men  who  knew  by 
experience  the  long  fearful  night  of  the  79°  of  latitude,  and  who,  broken  in 
health  and  with  very  insufficient  supplies  of  provisions  and  fuel,  were  but  ill 
ai'med  for  a  second  encounter.  No  wonder  that  many  of  Kane's  companions 
thought  it  better  to  abandon  the  vessel  than  to  tarry  any  longer  in  those  frozen 
solitudes. 

But  though  it  was  horrible  to  look  another  winter  in  the  face,  the  resolution 
of  Kane  could  not  be  shaken.  On  August  24,  when  the  last  hope  of  seeing  the 
vessel  once  more  afloat  had  vanished,  he  called  the  officers  and  crew  together, 
and  explained  to  them  frankly  the  considerations  which  determined  him  to 
remain.  To  abandon  the  vessel  earlier  would  have  been  unseemly,  and  to  reach 
Upernavik  so  late  in  the  season  was  next  to  impossible.  To  such. of  them, 
however,  as  were  desirous  of  making  the  attempt,  he  freely  gave  his  permission 
so  to  do,  assuring  them  of  a  brother's  welcome  should  they  be  driven  back.  lie 
then  directed  the  roll  to  be  called,  and  each  man  to  answer  for  himself.  In 
result,  eight  out  of  the  seventeen  survivors  of  the  party  resolved  to  stand  by  the 
brig.  The  others  left  on  the  28th,  with  every  appliance  which  the  narrow 
circumstances  of  the  brig  could  furnish  to  speed  and  guard  them.  When  they 
disappeared  among  the  hummocks,  the  stern  realities  of  their  condition  pressed 
themselves  with  double  force  on  those  whom  they  left  behind. 

The  reduced  numbers  of  the  party,  the  helplessness  of  many,  the  waning 
efficiency  of  all,  the  impending  winter,  with  its  cold,  dark  nights,  the  penury 
of  their  resources,  the  dreary  sense  of  increased  isolation — all  combined  to 
depress  them.  But  their  energetic  leader,  leaving  them  no  time  for  these 
gloomy  thoughts,  set  them  actively  to  work  to  make  the  best  possible  prepa- 
rations they  could  for  the  long  cold  night  to  come. 

24 


370  TIIE   POLAR  WORLD. 

lie  had  carefully  studied  the  Esquimaux,  and  determined  that  their  form  of 
habitations  and  their  mode  of  diet,  without  their  unthrift  and  filth,  were  the 
safest  and  best  that  could  be  adopted.  The  deck  was  well  padded  with  moss 
and  turf,  so  as  to  form  a  nearly  cold-proof  covering,  and,  down  below,  a  space 
some  eighteen  feet  square — the  apartment  of  all  uses— was  inclosed  and  packed 
from  floor  to  ceiling  with  inner  walls  of  the  same  non-conducting  material.  The 
floor  itself,  after  having  been  carefully  caulked,  w^as  covered  Avith  Manilla  oakum 
a  coui^le  of  inches  deej)  and  a  canvas  carpet.  The  entrance  was  from  the  hold, 
by  a  low  moss-lined  tunnel,  with  as  many  doors  and  curtains  to  close  it  up  as 
ingenuity  could  devise.  Large  banks  of  snow  were  also  thrown  up  along  the 
brig's  sides  to  keep  off  the  cold  wind. 

All  these  labors  in  the  open  air  wonderfully  improved  the  health  of  the  ex- 
iles, and  their  strength  increased  from  day  to  day.  A  friendly  intercourse  was 
opened  with  the  Esquimaux  of  the  winter  settlements  of  Etah  and  Anoatok, 
distant  some  thirty  and  seventy  miles  from  the  shij),  who,  for  presents  of  nee- 
dles, pins,  and  knives,  engaged  to  furnish  walrus  and  fresh  seal  meat,  and  to 
show  the  white  men  where  to  find  the  game.  Common  hunting-parties  were 
organized,  visits  of  courtesy  and  necessity  paid,  and  even  some  personal  attach- 
ments established  deserving  of  the  name.  As  long  as  the  Americans  remained 
prisoners  of  the  ice,  they  were  indebted  to  their  savage  friends  for  invaluable 
counsel  in  relation  to  their  hunting  expeditions,  and  in  the  joint  hunt  they 
shared  alike. 

The  Esquimaux  gave  them  supplies  of  meat  at  critical  periods,  and  they 
were  able  to  do  as  much  for  them.  In  one  word,  without  the  natives,  Kane 
and  his  companions  would  most  likely  have  succumbed  to  the  winter,  and  the 
Esquimaux  on  their  part  learned  to  look  on  the  strangers  as  benefactors,  and 
mourned  their  departure  bitterly. 

On  December  12  the  party  which  had  abandoned  the  ship  returned,  ha-\'- 
ing  been  unable  to  penetrate  to  the  south,  and  was  received,  as  had  been  prom- 
ised, with  a  brotherly  welcome.  They  had  suffered  bitterly  from  the  cold, 
want  of  food,  and  the  fatigues  of  their  march  among  the  hummocks. 

"The. thermometer,"  says  Kane,  "was  at  —50°;  they  were  covered  with 
rime  and  snow,  and  w^ere  fainting  with  hunger.  It  was  necessary  to  use  cau- 
tion in  taking  them  below ;  for,  after  an  exposure  of  such  fearful  intensity  and 
duration  as  they  had  gone  through,  the  warmth  of  the  cabin  would  have  pros- 
trated them  completely.  They  had  journeyed  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles ; 
and  their  last  run  from  the  bay  near  Etah,  some  seventy  miles  in  a  right  hne, 
Avas  through  the  hummocks  at  this  appalling  temperature.  One  by  oye  they 
all  came  in  and  were  housed.  Poor  fellows  !  as  they  threw  open  their  Esqui- 
maux garments  by  the  stove,  how  they  relished  the  scanty  luxuries  Avhich  we 
had  to  offer  them !  The  coffee,  and  the  meat-biscuit  soup,  and  the  molasses, 
and  the  wheat  bread,  even  the  salt  pork,  which  our  scurvy  forbade  the  rest  of 
us  to  touch — how  they  relished  it  all !  For  more  than  two  months  they  had 
lived  on  frozen  seal  and  walrus  meat." 

Thus  Kane,  by  his  determination  not  to  abandon  the  ship,  proved  the  saviour 
of  all  his  comrades ;  for  what  would  have  become  of  them  had  he  been  less  firm 


KANE   AND   HAYES.  371 

in  his  resolution,  or  if  his  courage  had  failed  him  during  the  trials  of  that 
dreadful  winter? 

"  February  closes,"  says  the  heroic  explorer ;  "  thank  God  for  the  lapse  of 
its  twenty-eight  days !  Should  the  thirty-one  of  the  coming  March  not  drag 
us  farther  downward,  we  may  hope  for  a  successful  close  to  this  dreary  drama. 
By  April  10  we  should  have  seals ;  and  when  they  come,  if  we  remain  to  wel- 
come them,  we  can  call  ourselves  saved.  But  a  fair  review  of  our  prospects 
tells  me  that  I  must  look  the  lion  in  the  face.  The  scui'vy  is  steadily  gaining 
on  us.  I  do  my  best  to  sustain  the  more  desijerate  cases,  but  as  fast  as  I  par- 
tially build  up  one,  another  is  stricken  down.  Of  the  six  workers  of  our  party, 
as  I  counted  them  a  month  ago,  two  are  unable  to  do  out-door  work,  and  the 
remaining  four  divide  the  duty  of  the  ship  among  them.  Hans  musters  his  re^ 
maining  energies  to  conduct  the  hunt.  Petersen  is  his  disheartened,  moping 
assistant.  The  other  two,  Bonsall  and  myself,  have  all  the  daily  offices  of 
household  and  hospital.  We  chop  five  large  sacks  of  ice,  cut  six  fathoms  of 
eight-inch  hawser  into  junks  of  a  foot  each,  serve  out  the  meat  when  we  have 
it,  hack  at  the  molasses,  and  hew  out  with  crowbar  and  axe  the  pork  and  dried 
apples ;  pass  up  the  foul  slop  and  cleansings  of  our  dormitory,  and,  in  a  word, 
cook,  scidlionize,  and  attend  the  sick.  Added  to  this,  for  five  nights  running 
I  have  kept  watch  from  8  p.m.  to  4  a.m.,  catching  such  naps  as  I  could  in  the 
day  without  changing  my  clothes,  but  carefully  waking  every  hour  to  note 
thermometers." 

With  March  came  an  increase  of  sufferings.  Every  man  on  board  was 
tainted  with  scurvy,  and  there  were  seldom  more  than  thi*ee  who  could  assist 
in  caring  for  the  rest.  The  greater  number  were  in  their  bunks,  absolutely  un- 
able to  stir.  Had  Kane's  health  given  way,  the  whole  party,  deprived  of  its 
leading  spirit,  must  inevitably  have  perished. 

To  abandon  the  ship  was  now  an  absolute  necessity,  for  a  third  winter  in 
Rensselaer  Bay  would  have  been  certain  death  to  all;  but  before  the  boats 
could  be  transported  to  the  open  watei-,  many  preparations  had  to  be  made, 
and  most  of  the  party  were  still  too  weak  to  move.  The  interval  was  employed 
by  Kane  in  an  excursion  with  his  faithful  Esquimaux  to  the  Great  Glacier. 

At  length  on  May  20,  1855,  the  entire  ship's  company  bade  farewell  to  the 
"Advance,"  and  set  out  slowly  on  their  homeward  journey.  It  was  in  the  soft, 
subdued  light  of  a  Sunday  evening,  June  1 7,  that  after  hauling  their  boats  with 
much  hard  labor  through  the  hummocks,  they  stood  beside  the  open  sea-way. 
But  fifty-six  days  had  still  to  pass  before  they  could  reach  thfe  port  of  Uper- 
navik.  Neither  storms  nor  drift-ice  rendered  this  long  boat-journey  danger- 
ous, but  they  had  to  contend  with  famine,  when  they  at  length  reached  the 
open  bay,  and  found  themselves  in  the  full  line  of  the  great  ice-drift  to  the  At- 
lantic, in  boats  so  unseaworthy  as  to  require  constant  bailing  to  keep  them 
afloat.  Their  strength  had  decreased  to  an  alarming  degree ;  they  breathed 
heavily ;  their  feet  were  so  swollen  that  they  were  obliged  to  cut  open  their 
canvas  boots ;  they  were  utterly  unable  to  sleep,  and  the  rowing  and  bailing  be- 
came hourly  more  difficult. 

It  was  at  this  crisis  of  their  fortunes  that  they  saw  a  large  seal  floating — as 


373 


TIIE  POL.VR  WORLD. 


is  the  custom  of  these  animals— on  a  small  patch  of  ice,  and  seemingly  asleep. 
"  Trembling  with  anxiety,"  says  Kane, "  we  prepared  to  crawl  down  upon  him. 
Petersen  with  a  large  English  rifle,  Avas  stationed  in  the  bow,  and  stockings 
were  drawn  over  the  oars  as  mufllers.  As  we  neared  the  animal,  our  excite- 
ment became  so  intense  that  the  men  could  hardly  keep  stroke.  He  was  not 
asleep,  for  he  reared  his  head  when  we  were  almost  within  rifle-shot ;  and  to 
this  day  I  can  remember  the  hard,  careworn,  almost  despairing  expression  of 
the  men's  thin  faces  as  they  saw  him  move ;  their  lives  depended  on  his  cap- 
ture. I  depressed  my  hand  nervously,  as  a  signal  for  Petersen  to  fire.  M'Gary 
hung  upon  his  oar,  and  the  boat  slowly,  but  noiselessly  surging  ahead,  seemed 
to  me  withm  certain  range.  Looking  at  Petersen,  I  saw  that  the  poor  fellow 
was  paralyzed  by  his  anxiety,  trying  vainly  to  obtain  a  rest  for  his  gun  against 
the  cut-Avater  of  the  boat.  The  seal  rose  on  his  fore  flippers,  gazed  at  us  for  a 
moment  with  frightened  curiosity,  and  coiled  himself  for  a  plunge.  At  that  in- 
stant, simultaneously  with  the  crack  of  our  rifle,  he  relaxed  his  long  length  on 
the  ice,  and,  at  the  very  brink  of  the  water,  his  head  fell  helpless  to  one  side. 
I  would  have  ordered  another  shot,  but  no  discipline  could  have  controlled  the 
men.  With  a  wild  yell,  each  vociferating  according  to  his  own  impulse,  they 
urged  their  boats  upon  the  floes.  A  crowd  of  hands  seized  the  seal  and  bore 
him  up  to  safer  ice.  The  men  seemed  half  crazy.  I  had  not  realized  how 
much  we  were  reduced  by  absolute  famine.  They  ran  over  the  floe,  crying 
and  laughing,  and  brandishing  their  knives.  It  was  not  five  minutes  before 
every  man  was  sucking  his  bloody  fingers,  or  mouthing  long  strips  of  raw 
blubber.     Not  an  ounce  of  this  seal  was  lost." 

Within  a  day  or  two  another  seal  was  shot,  and  from  that  time  forvvaid 
they  had  a  full  supply  of  food. 

When  Kane,  after  an  absence  of  thirty  months,  returned  on  October  11, 
1855,  to  New  York,  he  was  enthusiastically  received.  Well-deserved  honors  of 
all  sorts  awaited  him  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic ;  but  his  health,  originally 
weak,  was  completely  broken  by  the  trials  of  his  journey,  and  on  February  16, 
1857,  he  died  at  the  Havana,  in  the  thirty-seventh  year  of  his  age.  In  him  the 
United  States  lost  one  of  her  noblest  sons,  a  true  hero,  whose  name  will  ever 
shine  among  the  most  famous  navigators  of  all  times  and  of  all  nations. 

In  1860,  Dr.  Hayes,  who  had  accompanied  Kane  on  his  journey,  once  more 
sailed  from  America  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  survey  of  Kennedy's 
Channel,  and,  if  possible,  of  pushing  on  to  the  pole  itself.  After  several  narrow 
escapes  from  ice-fields  and  icebergs,  his  schooner,  the  "United  States,"  was  at 
length  compelled  to  take  up  her  winter-quarters  at  Port  Foulke,  on  the  Green- 
land coast,  about  twenty  miles  in  latitude  to  the  south  of  Rensselaer  Harbor. 
Thanks  to  an  abundant  supply  of  fresh  meat  (for  the  neighborhood  abounded 
with  reindeer),  and  also  no  doubt  to  the  inexhaustible  fund  of  good-humor 
which  prevailed  in  the  ship's  company,  they  jsassed  the  winter  without  suffer- 
ing from  the  scurvy ;  but  most  of  the  dogs  on  which  Dr.  Hayes  relied  for  his 
sledge  expeditions  in  the  ensuing  spring  were  destroyed  by  the  same  epidemic 
which  had  been  so  fatal  to  the  teams  of  Dr.  Kane.  Fortunately  some  fresh 
dogs  could  be  purchased  and  borrowed  of  the  friendly  Esquimaux,  and  thus, 


KANE  AND    HAYES.  373 

early  in  April,  1861,  Dr.  Hayes  left  the  schooner,  to  plunge  into  the  icy  wilder- 
ness. Having  previously  ascertained  that  an  advance  along  the  Greenland 
shore  was  utterly  impossible,  he  resolved  to  cross  the  sound,  and  to  try  his 
fortunes  along  the  coast  of  Grinnell  Land.  Of  the  difficulties  which  he  had  to 
encounter  his  own  words  will  give  the  best  idea. 

"  By  winding  to  the  right  and  left,  and  by  occasionally  retracing  our  steps 
when  we  had  selected  an  impracticable  route,  we  managed  to  get  over  the  first 
few  miles  without  much  embarrassment,  but  farther  on  the  tract  was  rough  past 
description.  I  can  compare  it  to  nothing  but  a  promiscuous  accumulation  of 
rocks  closely  packed  together  and  piled  up  over  a  vast  plain  in  great  heaps  and 
endless  ridges,  leaving  scarcely  a  foot  of  level  surface.  The  interstices  between 
these  closely  accumulated  ice-masses  are  filled  up,  to  some  extent,  with 
drifted  snow.  The  reader  will  readily  imagine  the  rest.  He  will  see  the 
sledges  winding  through  the  tangled  wilderness  of  broken  ice-tables,  the 
men  and  dogs  pulling  and  pushing  up  their  respective  loads.  He  will  see 
them  clambering  over  the  very  summit  of  lofty  ridges,  through  which  there  is 
no  opening,  and  again  descending  on  the  other  side,  the  sledge  often  plunging 
over  a  precipice,  sometimes  capsizing  and  frequently  breaking.  Again  he  will  see 
the  party  baffled  in  their  attempt  to  cross  or  find  a  pass,  breaking  a  track  with 
shovel  and  handspike,  or  again,  unable  even  with  these  appliances  to  accom- 
plish their  end,  they  retreat  to  seek  a  better  track ;  and  they  may  be  lucky 
enough  to  find  a  sort  of  gap  or  gateway,  upon  the  winding  and  uneven  surface 
of  which  they  will  make  a  mile  or  so  with  comparative  ease.  The  snow-drifts 
are  sometimes  a  help,  and  sometimes  a  hinderance.  Their  surface  is  uniformly 
hard,  but  not  always  firm  to  the  foot.  The  crust  frequently  gives  way,  and  in  a 
most  tiresome  and  provoking  manner.  It  will  not  quite  bear  the  weight,  and 
the  foot  sinks  at  the  very  moment  when  the  other  is  lifted.  But,  worse  than 
this,  the  chasms  between  the  hummocks  are  frequently  bridged  over  with  snow 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave  a  considerable  space  at  the  bottom  quite  unfilled; 
and  at  the  very  moment  when  all  looks  promising,  down  sinks  one  man  to  his  mid- 
dle, another  to  the  neck,  another  is  buried  out  of  sight ;  the  sledge  gives  way, 
and  to  extricate  the  whole  from  this  unhappy  predicament  is  probably  the  labor 
of  hours.  It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  any  kind  of  labor  more  disheartening, 
or  which  would  sooner  sap  the  energies  of  both  men  and  animals.  The  strength 
gave  way  gradually ;  and  when,  as  often  happened  after  a  long  and  hard  day's 
work,  we  could  look  back  from  our  eminence  and  almost  fire  a  rifle-ball  into  our 
last  snow-hut,  it  was  truly  discouraging," 

No  wonder  that  after  thus  toiling  on  for  twenty-five  days  they  had  not  yet 
reached  half-way  across  the  sound,  and  that  they  were  all  broken  down.  But 
their  bold  leader  was  fully  determined  not  to  abandon  his  enter])rise  Avhile  still 
the  faintest  hope  of  success  remained,  and,  sending  the  main  party  back  to  the 
schooner,  he  continued  to  plunge  into  the  hummocks  with  three  picked  compan- 
ions— Jensen,  M'Donald,  Knorr— and  fourteen  dogs.  After  fourteen  days  of  al- 
most superhuman  exertion  the  sound  was  at  length  crossed,  and  now  began  a 
scarcely  less  harassing  journey  along  the  coast.  On  the  fifth  day  Jensen,  the 
strongest  man  of  the  party,  completely  broke  down,  and  leaving  him  to  the 


374  THE   POLAR   WOIiLD. 

charge  of  M'Donald,  Dr.  Hayes  now  jDushed  ou  with  Kuorr  alone,  until,  on  May 
18,  he  reached  the  border  of  a  deep  bay,  where  farther  progress  to  the  north 
was  stopped  by  rotten  ice  and  cracks.  Right  before  him,  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  frith,  rose  Mount  Parry,  the  lofty  peak  first  seen  by  Morton  in  1854  from 
the  shores  of  "Washington  Land  ;  and  farther  on,  a  noble  headland.  Cape  Union 
— the  most  northern  known  land  upon  the  globe — stood  in  faint  outline  against 
the  dark  sky  of  the  open  sea.  Thus  Dr.  Hayes  divides  the  honor  of  extreme 
northern  travel  with  Parry. 

On  July  12  the  "United  States"  was  released  from  her  icy  trammels,  and 
Dr.  Hayes  once  more  attempted  to  reach  the  opposite  coast  and  continue  his 
discoveries  in  Grinnell  Land,  but  the  schooner  was  in  too  crippled  a  state  to 
force  her  Avay  through  the  i)ack-ice  which  lay  in  her  course,  and  compelled  her 
commander  to  return  to  Boston. 

Thus  ended  this  remarkable  voyage  ;  but  having  done  so  much.  Dr.  Hayes 
is  eager,  and  resolved,  to  do  still  more.  Fully  convinced  by  his  own  experience 
that  men  may  subsist  in  Smith's  Sound  independent  of  support  from  home,  he 
proposes  to  establish  a  self-sustaining  colony  at  Port  Foulke,  which  may  be  made 
the  basis  of  an  extended  exploration.  Without  any  second  party  in  the  field  to 
co-operate  with  him,  and  under  the  most  adverse  circumstances,  he,  by  dint  of 
indomitable  perseverance,  pushed  his  discoveries  a  hundred  miles  farther  to  the 
north  and  west  than  his  predecessors ;  and  it  is  surely  not  over-sanguine  to  ex- 
pect that  a  party  better  provided  with  the  means  of  travel  may  be  able  to  trav- 
erse the  480  miles  at  least  which  intervene  between  Mount  Parry  and  the  pole. 
The  open  sea  which  both  Morton  and  himself  found  beyond  Kennedy  Channel 
gives  fair  promise  of  success  to  a  strong  vessel  that  may  reach  it  after  having 
forced  the  ice-blocked  passage  of  Smith's  Sound,  or,  should  this  be  impractica- 
ble, to  a  boat  transported  across  the  sound  and  then  launched  upon  its  waters. 

Captain  Sherard  Osborne,  who  is  likewise  a  Avarm  partisan  of  this  route,  has 
been  endeavoring  to  interest  Government  in  its  favor ;  but  in  the  oj^inion  of 
other  scientific  authorities  an  easier  passage  seems  open  to  the  navigator  who 
may  attempt  to  reach  the  pole  by  way  of  Spitzbergen.  To  tlie  east  of  this 
ai-chipelago  the' Gulf  Stream  rolls  its  volume  of  comparatively  warm  water  far 
on  to  the  north-east,  and  possibly  sweeps  round  the  pole  itself.  It  Avas  to  the 
north  of  Spitzbergen  that  Parry  reached  the  latitude  of  82°  45';  and  in  1837 
the  "Truelove,"  of  Hull,*  sailed  through  a  perfectly  open  sea  in  82°  30'  N.,  15° 
E.,  and,  had  she  continued  her  course,  might  possibly  have  reached  the  pole  as 
easily  as  the  high  latitude  which  she  had  already  attained. 

The  distinguished  geographer.  Dr.  Augustus  Petermann,  who  warmly  advo- 
cates the  route  between  Spitzbergen  and  Greenland,  has,  by  dint  of  perseverance, 
succeeded  in  collecting  among  his  countrymen  the  necessary  funds  for  a  recon- 
noitring voyage  in  this  direction.  Thanks  to  his  exertions,  May  24, 1868,  Avit- 
nessed  the  departure  of  a  small  ship  of  eighty  tons,  the  "  Germania,"  Captain 
KoldeAA^ey,  from  the  port  of  Bergen,  for  Shannon  Island  ('75°  14'  K  lat.),  the 
highest  point  on  the  east  coast  of  Greenland  attained  by  Sabine  in  1823.  Here 
the  attempt  to  explore  the  unknoAvn  Arctic  seas  beyond  Avas  to  begin  ;  but, 
*  "  Athenseum,"  Dec.  3, 1853. 


KANE   AND   HAYES.  375 

meeting  with  enormous  masses  of  drift-ice  on  her  repeated  endeavors  to  pene- 
trate to  the  north-east,  the  "  Germania  "  has  been  obliged  to  return,  after  reach- 
ing the  high  latitude  of  81°  5',  and  accurately  surveying  a  small  part  of  the 
Greenland  coast  hitherto  but  imperfectly  explored.  An  expedition  on  a  more 
extensive  scale  is  to  renew  the  attempt  in  1869. 

A  third  route  to  the  pole  is  no  less  strenuously  recommended  by  M.  Gustave 
Lambert,  a  French  hydrographer,  who,  having  sailed  through  Bering's  Strait  in 
a  whaler  in  1865,  is  persuaded  that  this  is  the  right  way  to  reach  the  problemat- 
ical open  North  Sea,  which,  once  attained,  promises  a  free  passage  to  the  navi- 
gator. Liberal  subscriptions  have  been  raised  in  Paris  for  the  accomplishment 
of  his  plan,  and  an  expedition  under  his  command  will  most  probably  set  out 
in  1869. 

Thus,  after  so  many  illustrious  navigators  have  vainly  endeavored  to  reach 
the  pole,  sanguine  projectors  are  still  as  eager  as  ever  to  attain  the  goal;  nor  is 
it  probable  that  man  will  ever  rest  in  his  efforts  until  every  attainable  region 
of  the  Arctic  Ocean  shall  have  been  fully  explored. 


376  THE   POLAK   WOULD. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

NEWFOUNDLAND. 

Its  desolate  Aspect. — Forests.— Marshes. — Barrens.— Ponds. — Fur-bearing  Animals.— Severity  of  Cli- 
mate.— St.  John's. — Discovery  of  Newfoundland  by  the  Scandinavians. — Sir  Humphrej'-  Gilbert. — 
Rivalry  of  the  English  and  French. — Importance  of  the  Fisheries.— The  Banks  of  Newfoundland. — 
]\Iode  of  Fishing. — Throaters,  Headers,  Splitters,  Salters,  and  Packers. — Fogs  and  Storms.— Seal- 
catching. 

i~^  EXERALLY  veiled  Avitli  mists,  NewfouDclland  appears  at  first  siglit 
^^  gloomy  and  repulsive.  Abrupt  cliifs,  showing  here  and  there  traces  of  a 
scanty  vegetation,  rise  steep  and  bare  from  the  sea,  and  for  miles  and  miles 
the  eye  sees  nothing  but  brown  hills  or  higher  mountains,  desolate  and  wild  as 
they  appeared  in  the  eleventh  century  to  the  bold  Norwegian  navigators  who 
first  landed  on  its  desert  shore.  The  waves  of  the  ocean  have  everywhere  cor- 
roded the  rocky  coast  into  fantastic  pinnacles  or  excavated  deep  grottoes  in  its 
fianks.  In  one  of  these  cavities  the  action  of  the  surge  has  produced  a  remark- 
able phenomenon,  known  under  the  name  of  "  The  Spout."  In  stormy  weather 
the  waves  penetrate  into  the  hollow  and  force  their  way  with  a  dreadful  noise 
from  an  aperture  in  the  rock  as  a  gigantic  fountain  visible  at  a  distance  of 
several  miles.* 

The  interior  of  the  country  corresponds  with  the  forbidding  appearance  of 
the  coasts,  and  offers  nothing  but  a  succession  of  forests,  marshes,  and  barrens. 
The  forests,  if  they  may  thus  be  called,  generally  grow  on  the  declivities  of  the 
hills  or  on  the  sides  of  the  valleys,  where  the  superfluous  waters  find  a  natural 
drain.  The  trees  consist  for  the  most  part  of  fir,  spruce,  birch,  pine,  and  juni- 
per or  larch  ;  and  in  certain  districts  the  Avych-hazel,  the  mountain-ash,  the  eld- 
er, the  aspen,  and  some  others  are  found.  The  character  of  the  timber  varies 
greatly  according  to  the  nature  of  the  subsoil  and  the  situation.  In  some  parts, 
more  especially  where  the  woods  have  been  undisturbed  by  the  axe,  trees  of 
fair  height  and  girth  may  be  found;  but  most  of  the  wood  is  of  stunted 
growth,  consisting  chiefly  of  fir-trees  about  twenty  or  thirty  feet  high,  and 
not  more  than  three  or  four  inches  in  diameter.  These  commonly  grow  so 
closely  together  that  their  twigs  and  branches  interlace  from  top  to  bottom, 
while  among  them  may  be  seen  innumerable  old  and  rotten  stumps  and  branch- 
es, or  newly-fallen  trees,  which,  with  the  young  shoots  and  brushwood,  form  a 
tangled  and  often  impenetrable  thicket.  The  trees  are  often  covered  with  lich- 
ens, and  tufts  of  white  dry  moss  are  entangled  about  the  branches.  Other 
green  and  softer  mosses  spread  over  the  ground,  concealing  alike  the  twisted 
roots  of  the  standing  trees  and  the  pointed  stumps  of  those  which  have  fallen, 

*  For  an  account  of  the  similar  phenomena  of  the  "BuflFadero,"  on  the  Mexican  coast,  and  of  the 
"  Soufaeur,"  Mauritius,  see  "  The  Sea  and  its  Living  Wonders,"  3d  ed.  p.  52. 


NEWFOUNDLAND.  377 


the  sharp  edges  or  slippery  surface  of  the  numerous  rocks  and  boulders,  and  the 
holes  and  pitfalls  between  them.  Every  step  through  these  woods  is  conse- 
quently a  matter  of  great  toil  and  anxiety.  In  the  heat  of  summer,  while  the 
woods  are  so  thick  as  to  shut  out  every  breath  of  air,  they  are  at  the  same 
time  too  low  and  too  thinly  leaved  at  top  to  exclude  the  rays  of  the  sun,  the  at- 
mosphere being  further  rendered  close  and  stifling  by  the  smell  of  the  turpen- 
tine which  exudes  from  the  trees. 

Inclosed  in  these  gloomy  woods,  large  open  tracts,  called  marshes,  are  found 
covering  the  valleys  and  lower  lands,  and  frequently  also  at  a  considerable 
height  above  the  sea  on  the  undulating  backs  of  the  mountains.  These  tracts 
are  covered  to  a  depth  sometimes  of  several  feet  with  a  green,  soft,  and  spongy 
moss,  bound  together  by  straggling  grass  and  various  marsh-plants.  The  sur- 
face abounds  in  hillocks  and  holes,  the  tops  of  the  hillocks  having  often  dry 
crisp  moss  like  that  on  the  trees.  A  boulder  or  small  crag  of  rock  occasionally 
protrudes,  covered  with  red  or  white  Hchens,  and  here  and  there  is  a  bank  on 
which  the  moss  has  become  dry  and  yellow.  The  contrast  of  these  colors  with 
the  dark  velvety  green  of  the  wet  moss  frequently  gives  a  peculiarly  rich  appear- 
ance to  the  marshes,  so  that  when  seen  from  a  little  distance  they  might  easily 
be  mistaken  for  luxuriant  meadow-grounds,  but  a  closer  inspection  soon  destroys 
the  illusion,  and  shows,  instead  of  nutritious  grass  and  aromatic  flowers,  nothing 
but  a  carpet  of  useless  cryptogamic  plants.  Except  in  long-continued  droughts 
or  hard  frosts,  these  marshes  are  so  wet  as  to  be  unable  to  bear  the  weight  of  a 
person  walking  over  them.  A  march  of  three  miles,  sinking  at  every  step  into 
the  moss,  sometimes  knee-deep,  and  always  as  far  as  the  ankle,  is,  it  may  well 
be  supposed,  toilsome  and  fatiguing,  especially  when,  as  must  always  be  the 
case  in  attempting  to  penetrate  the  country,  a  heavy  load  is  carried  on  the 
shoulders.  This  thick  coating  of  moss  is  precisely  like  a  great  sponge  spread 
over  the  country,  and  becomes  at  the  melting  of  the  snow  in  the  spring  thor- 
oughly saturated  with  water,  which  it  long  retains,  and  which  every  shower  of 
rain  continually  renews. 

The  "  barrens  "  of  Newfoundland  are  those  districts  which  occupy  the  sum- 
mits of  the  hills  and  ridges,  and  other  elevated  and  exposed  tracts.  They  are 
covered  with  a  thin  and  scrubby  vegetation,  consisting  of  berry-bearing  plants 
and  dwarf  bushes  of  various  species,  resembling  the  moorlands  of  the  north  of 
England,  and  differing  only  in  the  kind  of  vegetation  and  its  scantier  quantity. 
Bare  patches  of  gravel  and  boulders  and  crumbUng  fragments  of  rock  are  fre- 
quently met  with  upon  the  barrens,  and  they  are  generally  altogether  destitute 
of  vegetable  soil.  But  only  on  the  barrens  is  it  possible  to  explore  the  interior 
of  the  country  with  any  kind  of  ease  or  expedition.  These  different  tracts  are 
none  of  them  of  any  great  extent ;  woods,  marshes,  and  barrens  frequently  alter- 
nating with  each  other  in  the  course  of  a  day's  journey. 

Another  remarkable  feature  of  Newfoundland  is  the  almost  incredible  num- 
ber of  lakes  of  all  sizes,  all  of  which  are  indiscriminately  called  ponds.  They 
are  scattered  over  the  whole  country,  not  only  in  the  valleys  but  on  the  higher 
lands  ;  and  even  in  the  hollows  of  the  summits  of  the  ridges  and  the  very  tops 
of  the  hills.     They  vary  in  size  from  pools  of  fifty  yards  in  diameter  to  lakes  up- 


378  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

Avard  of  thirty  miles  long  and  four  or  five  miles  across.  The  nmuber  of  those 
which  exceed  a  couj^le  of  miles  in  extent  must  on  the  whole  amount  to  several 
hundreds,  while  those  of  a  smaller  size  are  absolutely  countless.  It  is  supposed 
that  a  full  third  of  the  surface  of  the  island  is  covered  by  fresh  water,  and  this 
reckoning  is  rather  below  than  above  the  mark.  In  a  country  so  abundantly 
provided  with  lakes  or  ponds,  it  seems  strange  to  find  no  navigable  rivers. 
The  undulating  surface  of  the  land,  with  its  abrupt  hills  and  deep  gullies,  is, 
without  all  doubt,  one  cause  of  this  absence  of  larger  streams. 

Each  pond  or  small  set  of  ponds  communicates  with  a  valley  of  its  own, 
down  which  it  sends  an  insignificant  brook,  which  takes  the  nearest  course  to 
the  sea.  The  chief  cause,  however,  both  of  the  vast  abundance  of  ponds  and 
the  comparative  scantiness  of  the  brooks,  is  to  be  found  in  the  great  coating  of 
moss  which  spreads  over  the  country,  and  retains  the  Avater  like  a  sponge,  al- 
lowing it  to  drain  off  but  slowly  and  gradually. 

The  wilds  of  Newfoundland  are  tenanted  by  numerous  fur-bearing  animals, 
affording  a  great  source  of  gain  to  some  of  the  fishermen,  who  in  Avinter  turn 
furriers.  Arctic  foxes  are  here  in  all  their  variety.  Beavers,  once  nearly  ex- 
tirpated, but  now  unmolested  OAving  to  the  low  value  of  their  fur,  are  increasing 
in  numbers.  BroAvn  bears  are  pretty  numerous,  and  Polar  bears  sometimes  find 
their  way  to  the  northern  promontory  of  the  island  upon  the  ice  which  comes 
drifting  down  in  spring  from  Davis's  Straits.  By  way  of  contrast,  in  hot  sum- 
mers the  tropical  humming-bird  has  been  known  to  visit  the  southern  shores 
of  XcAvfoundland.  Reindeer  are  abundant,  but  unfortunately  their  enemies 
the  wolves  have  likeAvise  increased  in  number,  since  the  rcAvard  given  by  the 
Colonial  Government  for  their  destruction  has  ceased  to  be  paid. 

Although  in  the  same  latitude  as  Central  France  and  the  south  of  Germany, 
Newfoundland  has  a  long  and  severe  winter,  owing  to  the  two  vast  streams  of 
Arctic  Avater,  the  Davis's  Straits  and  East  Greenland  currents,  AA^hich  combine 
and  run  by  its  shores ;  and  the  summer,  though  sometimes  intensely  hot,  is  so 
short  and  so  frequently  obscured  by  fogs  that,  even  were  the  soil  less  sterile,  ag- 
riculture must  necessarily  be  confined  to  narrow  limits.  The  little  wheat  and 
barley,  cultivated  on  the  inside  lands  far  above  the  sea-shore,  is  often  cut  green, 
and  carrots,  turnips,  potatoes,  and  cabbages  are  nearly  all  the  esculent  vegeta- 
bles which  the  land  has  been  proved  capable  of  producing. 

Hence  Ave  can  not  wonder  that  the  AA^hole  island,  which  is  considerably  larger 
than  Scotland,  has  only  about  90,000  inhabitants,  and  even  these  would  have 
had  no  inducement  to  settle  on  so  unpromising  a  soil  if  the  riches  of  the  sea 
did  not  amply  compensate  for  the  deficiencies  of  the  land.  Fish  is  the  staple 
produce  of  NcAvfoundland,  and  the  bulk  of  its  population  consists  of  poor  fish- 
ermen, who  have  established  themsekes  along  the  deep  bays  by  which  the  coast 
is  indented,  and  catch  near  the  coast  vast  quantities  of  cod,  Avhich  they  bring 
in  and  cure  at  their  leisure,  in  order  to  have  it  ready  for  the  ships  Avhen  they 
arrive.  With  the  outer  world  they  have  little  communication,  and  a  visit  to 
St.  John's,  the  capital  of  the  island,  forms  an  epoch  in  their  solitary  lives. 
^  This  toAvn  lies  at  the  head  of  a  Avide  and  secure  bay,  and  consists  of  a  main 
street  fronting  the  Avater,  from  which  narroAA',  dirty  lanes  and  alleys  branch  out 


NEWFOUNDLAND.  379 

towards  the  land.  The  dingy,  unpainted  houses  are  built  of  wood,  the  Gov- 
ernment edifices  only  being  constructed  of  brick  or  stone.  The  long  rows  of 
fish-stages  along  the  shore  attract  the  stranger's  attention,  but  he  is  still  more 
astonished  at  the  countless  gin  and  beer  shops,  which  at  once  tell  him  he  is 
in  a  place  where  thirsty  sailors  and  fishermen  form  the  mass  of  the  popula- 
tion. In  the  winter  St.  John's  is  comparatively  deserted,  as  it  then  has  no  more 
than  about  10,000  inhabitants,  but  their  number  is  doubled  or  trebled  during 
the  fishing-season. 

The  island  of  Newfoundland,  first  seen  and  visited  in  the  eleventh  century 
by  the  Norse  colonists  of  Greenland,  and  then  utterly  forgotten,  was  rediscov- 
ered in  1497  or  1498  by  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot. 

The  richness  of  its  cod-fisheries  soon  attracted  attention,  and  fishermen  from 
Spain,  France,  Portugal,  and  England  annually  visited  its  banks.  The  best  har- 
bors along  the  coast  were  occupied  by  the  first  comers  in  spring— a  circum- 
stance which  gave  rise  to  frequent  quarrels.  To  obviate  this  lawless  state  of 
affairs,  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  was  sent  out  by  Queen  Elizabeth  in  1583  to  take 
possession  of  the  land.  He  divided  the  coast  about  St.  John's  into  districts, 
and  the  British  settlers  willingly  agreed  to  pay  a  tax  to  Government  in  the  ex- 
pectation of  seeing  their  interests  better  protected.  The  new  arrangement  had 
a  beneficial  effect  on  the  trade  of  Newfoundland,  for  in  1615  more  than  250 
English  vessels  visited  St.  John's,  and  gradually  the  whole  of  the  eastern  coast 
of  the  island  was  occupied  by  English  fishermen. 

The  French  on  their  part  colonized  the  north  and  south  sides  of  the  island, 
and  founded  the  town  of  Placentia,  once  a  very  considerable  place,  but  now  re- 
duced to  insignificance.  The  rivalry  of  the  French  was  naturally  a  great  source 
of  jealousy  to  a  nation  ill-accustomed  to  brook  any  foreign  intrusion  into  its 
commercial  interests.  Thus,  after  the  war  of  the  Spanish  succession,  Great 
Britain  demanded  and  obtained  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  the  sole  possession 
of  Newfoundland ;  and  Louis  XIV.,  anxious  for  peace  on  any  terms,  willingly 
acceded  to  this  sacrifice,  merely  reserving  for  his  subjects  the  right  to  dry  on 
the  shores  of  the  island  the  fish  they  had  caught  on  the  banks.  By  the  subse- 
quent treaties  of  Paris  the  French  were  restricted  to  the  small  islands  of  St. 
Pierre  and  Miquelon,  but  not  allowed  to  erect  fortifications  of  any  kind. 

Besides  the  English  and  the  French,  the  Americans  also  have  the  right  to 
fish  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland  ;  for  when  England  acknowledged  the  in- 
dependence of  the  United  States,  a  forinal  article  of  the  treaty  of  peace  secured 
to  the  latter  the  fishing  privileges  which  they  had  previously  enjoyed  as  col- 
onies. 

The  value  of  the  dry  codfish  alone  exported  every  year  from  Newfoundland 
is  on  an  average  about  £400,000,  while  the  total  value  of  the  exported  produc- 
tions in  fish,  oil,  and  skins  is  upward  of  £700,000.  This,  from  a  population 
of  80,000  or  90,000,  proves  that  the  people  of  the  island  ought  to  be  happy  and 
prosperous ;  but  unfortunately  a  system  of  credit  renders  the  bulk  of  the  fish- 
ermen entirely  dependent  on  the  merchants,  and  want  of  education  is  a  further 
source  of  evil.  ■* 

Though  vast  quantities  of  cod  are  taken  along  the  shores  of  Newfoundland, 


380  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

yet  the  most  important  fishery  is  carried  on  on  the  banks  at  some  distance 
from  the  island. 

The  Great  Bank  lies  twenty  leagues  from  the  nearest  point  of  land  from  lat- 
itude 41°  to  49°,  and  extends  300  miles  in  length  and  15  in  breadth.  To  the 
east  of  this  lies  the  False  Bank ;  the  next  is  styled  the  Green  Bank,  about  240 
miles  long  and  120  broad;  then  Banquero,  about  the  same  size,  with  several 
other  shoals  of  less  note,  all  abounding  with  fish,  but  chiefly  with  cod,  the 
great  magnet  which  sets  whole  fleets  in  motion.  In  winter  the  cod  retire  to 
the  deeper  waters,  but  they  re-appear  in  March  and  April,  Avhen  their  pursuers 
hasten  to  the  spot,  not  only  from  the  bays  and  coves  of  Newfoundland,  but 
from  Great  Britain,  the  United  States,  and  France. 

While  fishing,  each  man  has  a  space  three  feet  and  a  half  wide  allotted  to 
him  on  deck,  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  his  neighbor.  The  lines  are  from  thirty 
to  forty  fathoms  long — for  the  cod  generally  swims  at  that  depth.  The  chief 
baits  used  are  the  squid,  a  species  of  cuttle-fish,  and  the  capelin,  a  small  salmon 
abounding  on  the  North  American  coasts.  The  herring  and  the  launce,  and 
a  shell-fish  called  clam,  which  is  found  in  the  belly  of  the  cod,  are  likewise  used. 
In  spring  particularly  the  cod  rushes  so  eagerly  upon  the  bait,  that  in  the 
course  of  a  single  day  a  good  fisherman  is  able  to  haul  up  four  hundred,  one 
after  another.  This  is  no  easy  task,  considering  the  size  of  the  fish,  wdiich  on 
an  average  weighs  fourteen  pounds,  but  has  been  taken  four  feet  three  inches 
long,  and  forty-six  pounds  in  weight.  When  a  large  fish,  too  heavy  for  the 
line,  has  been  caught,  the  fisherman  calls  on  his  neighbor,  who  strikes  a  hook 
attached  to  a  long  pole  into  the  fish,  and  then  safely  hauls  it  on  board. 

Mindful  of  the  proverb  which  recommends  lis  all  to  strike  while  the  iron  is 
hot,  the  fishermen  continue  to  catch  cod  for  hours,  until  so  many  are  heaped  on 
the  deck  that  to  make  room  it  becomes  necessary  to  "  dress  them  down."  This 
is  done  on  long  planks  made  to  rest  with  both  ends  on  two  casks,  and  thus 
forming  a  narrow  table.  First,  each  man  cuts  out  the  tongues  of  the  fish  he 
has  caught,  as  his  wages  are  reckoned  by  their  number,  and  then  the  whole 
ci'ew  divide  themselves  into  throaters,  headers,  splitters,  salters,  and  packers. 
The  throater  begins  the  operation  of  "  dressing  "  by  drawing  his  knife  across 
the  throat  of  the  cod  to  the  bone  and  ripping  open  the  bowels.  He  then  passes 
it  to  the  header,  who  with  a  strong  wrench  jjulls  off  the  head  and  tears  out  the 
entrails,  which  he  casts  overboard,  passing  the  fisli  at  the  same  time  to  the 
splitter,  who  with  one  cut  lays  it  open  from  head  to  tail,  and  almost  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye  with  another  cut  takes  out  the  backbone.  After  separating 
the  sounds,  which  ai'e  placed  with  the  tongues  and  packed  in  barrels  as  a  deli- 
cacy, the  backbone  follows  the  entrails  overboard,  Avhile  the  fish  at  the  same 
moment  is  passed  with  the  other  hand  to  the  Salter.  Such  is  the  amazing 
quickness  of  the  operations  of  heading  and  splitting,  that  a  good  workman  will 
often  decapitate  and  take  out  the  entrails  and  backbone  of  six  fish  in  a  minute. 
Every  fisherman  is  supposed  to  know  something  of  each  of  these  operations,  and 
no  rivals  at  cricket  ever  entered  with  more  avdor  into  their  work  than  do  some 
a#iletic  champions  for  the  palm  of  "  dressing  down  "  after  a  "  day's  catch." 

Generally  the  fog  is  so  dense  that  one  ship  does  not  see  the  other,  although 


NEWFOUNDLAND.  381 

both  may  be  so  near  that  the  crews  distinctly  hear  each  other's  voices.  Fre- 
quently one  is  hardly  able  to  see  to  the  distance  of  a  few  feet,  and  the  large  drops 
of  the  condensed  mist  fall  like  rain  from  the  yards.  During  calm  weather  the 
aspect  of  the  sea  is  so  dismal  that  it  requires  all  the  buoyant  spirits  of  a  seaman 
to  resist  its  depressing  influence.  For  days  the  calm  remains  unbroken,  and 
no  sound  is  heard  but  that  of  a  fish  darting  out  of  the  water,  or  the  screech  of 
a  sea-bird  flitting  over  the  sea.  But  sometimes  a  storm  breaks  this  awful 
gilence  of  nature.  At  such  times  the  fishing-ships,  hidden  in  mists,  run  the 
greatest  danger  of  striking  against  each  other,  although  signal-lanterns  and 
alarm-trumpets  are  used  to  give  warning.  A  tremendous  wave  bursting  on 
the  deck  often  strikes  them  with  such  force  as  to  sink  them  or  dash  them  to 
pieces  against  the  rocky  coast.  Thus  many  a  widow  and  orphan  has  a  mournful 
tale  to  relate  of  the  dangers  of  the  cod-fishery  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland. 

In  some  parts  of  the  coast  where  the  water  is  sufficiently  shallow  the  cod- 
fish are  now  caught  in  sieves  or  nets.  This  operation  requires  more  capital  to 
commence  with  than  the  mere  boat  and  hooks  and  lines  of  the  common  fisher- 
men, and,  like  all  improvements,  met  at  first  with  much  opposition,  on  the  plea 
that  it  must  interfere  with  the  interests  of  the  poorer  class.  It  is  obvious,  how- 
ever, that  the  use  of  the  net  is  advantageous  to  the  trade  at  large,  for  shoals,  or, 
as  they  are  termed,  "  schools,"  of  fish  may  sometimes  be  seen  sweeping  along 
shore,  which  but  for  the  net  would  escape  altogether.  Besides,  there  seems 
such  an  incalculable  abundance  of  the  fish  that  there  will  always  be  enough  to 
hook,  enough  to  jig,  enough  to  net,  and  moi'e  than  enough  to  go  away. 

"  One  calm  July  evening,"  says  Mr.  Jukes,*  "  I  was  in  a  boat  just  outside  St. 
John's  harbor,  when  the  sea  was  pretty  still,  and  the  fish  were  '  breaching,'  as  it 
is  termed.  For  several  miles  around  us  the  calm  sea  was  alive  with  fish.  They 
were  sporting  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  flirting  their  tails  occasionally  into 
the  air,  and  as  far  as  coiild  be  seen  the  water  was  rippled  and  broken  by  their 
movements.  Looking  down  into  its  clear  depths,  codfish  under  codfish  of  all 
sizes  appeared  swimming  about  as  if  in  sport.  Some  boats  were  fishing,  but  not 
a  bite  could  they  get,^the  fish  being  already  gorged  with  food.  Had  the  ground 
been  shallow  enough  to  use  nets,  the  harbor  might  have  been  filled  with  fish." 

Besides  the  cod-fishery,  seal-catching  is  also  carried  on  with  considerable  suc- 
cess on  the  eastei-n  coast,  which  intercepts  many  iminense  fields  and  islands  of 
ice  as  they  move  southward  in  the  spring  from  the  Arctic  Sea.  The  interior 
parts  of  these  drifting  shoals,  with  the  lakes  or  openings  interspersed,  remain 
unbroken,  and  on  them  myriads  of  seals  may  be  found.  In  the  month  of  March 
or  April,  as  soon  as  the  ice-fields  descend  with  the  currents  from  Davis's  Straits, 
many  small  ships,  not  only  from  the  harbors  of  the  east  coast  of  Newfoundland, 
but  even  from  the  distant  Scotch  ports,  particularly  Aberdeen,  put  out  to  sea, 
and  boldly  plunge  into  all  the  openings  of  the  ice-fields  to  make  war  upon  the 
seals.  Armed  with  firelocks  and  heavy  bludgeons,  the  crews  surprise  the  ani- 
mals on  the  ice.  In  this  way  thousands  are  killed  yearly  from  the  north,  but 
their  numbers  have  latterly  decreased,  and  the  seal-catchers  pay  the  penalty  of 
their  heedless  and  indiscriminate  slaughter. 

*  "Excursions  in  Newfoundland." 


TIIE   POLAR  WORLD. 


CHAPTER  XXXYI. 

GREENLAND. 

A  mysterious  Region.— Ancient  Scandinavian  Colonists.— Their  Decline  and  Fall.— Hans  Egede.— His 
Trials  and  Success.— Foundation  of  Godthaab. — Herrenhuth  Missionaries. — Lindenow. — The  Scores- 
bys. — Clavering. — The  Danish  Settlements  in  Greenland. — The  Greenland  Esquimaux. — Seal-catch- 
ing.— The  White  Dolphin. — The  Narwhal. — Shark-fishery. — Fiskernasset. — Birds. — Reindeer-hunt- 
ing.— Indigenous  Plants. — Drift-wood. — Mineral  Kingdom. — Mode  of  Life  of  the  Greenland  Esqui- 
maux.— The  Danes  in  Greenland. — Beautiful  Scenery. — Ice  Caves. 

IX  many  respects  Greenland  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  countries  of  the 
Arctic  zone.  The  whole  of  the  northern  coast  of  continental  America 
from  Cape  Lisburne  to  Belle  Isle  Straits  is  known ;  the  borders  of  Siberia  front- 
ing the  icy  ocean  have  been  thoroughly  explored  by  water  and  by  land ;  the 
distance  of  Spitzbergen  and  Xova  Zembla  from  the  pole  has  long  since  been 
determined ;  but  how  far  Greenland  may  reach  to  the  north  we  know  not — ■ 
though  nearly  a  thousand  years  have  passed  since  the  Icelander  Giinnbjorn 
(970  A.D.)  first  saw  its  high  mountain  coast,  and  in  spite  of  all  the  attempts 
made  since  that  time  to  circumnavigate  it.  The  interior  of  the  island — or  con- 
tinent as  it  may  perhaps  more  justly  be  called,  for  it  has  a  surface  of  at  least 
750,000  square  miles,  and  is  probably  larger  than  Australia — is  also  unknown  ; 
for  of  this  vast  extent  of  territory  only  the  naiTow  shores  of  the  coast-line 
seemed  to  be  inhabitable,  or  even  accessible  to  man.  On  penetrating  into  the 
deeper  fjords,  all  the  valleys  are  found  blocked  with  glaciers,  which,  on  climb- 
ing the  heights,  are  seen  to  pass  into  a  monotonous  plateau  of  ice,  or  neve,  which 
seems  to  cover  and  conceal  the  whole  interior.  Thus,  from  its  physical  config- 
uration, Greenland  may  well  be  called  a  mysterious  region^  and,  strange  to  say, 
the  history  of  the  decline  and  fall  of  its  first  colonists  is  as  little  known  as  its 
geography. 

We  have  seen  in  a  previous  chapter  that  Iceland,  so  peaceful  in  the  present 
day,  was  peopled  in  the  ninth  century  with  a  highly  turbulent  race  of  jarls  and 
vikings.  One  of  these  worthies,  called  Erik  Rauda,  or  the  Red,  having  twice 
dyed  his  hands  with  blood,  was  banished  by  the  Althing  (982)  for  a  term  of 
years,  and  resolved  to  pass  the  time  of  his  compulsory  absence  in  exploring  the 
land  discovered  by  Giinnbjorn,  After  spending  three  years  on  its  western 
coasts,  he  returned  to  Iceland,  and  made  so  favorable  a  report  of  the  new  coun- 
try, which — knowing  the  advantages  of  a  good  name — he  called  Greenland,  that 
in  986  he  induced  a  large  body  of  colonists  to  sail  with  him  and  settle  there. 
Other  emigrants  followed,  and  in  a  few  years  all  the  habitable  places  of  South- 
ern Greenland  were  occupied. 

The  colony,  which  soon  after  its  foundation  adopted  the  Christian  religion, 
was  divided  into  two  districts,  or  "  bygds  "  (from  the  Icelandic  "  byggia,"  to 


GREENLAND,  383 

inhabit),  by  an  intervening  tract  of  land  named  Ubygd,  the  "  uninhabitable  "  or 
"uninhabited."  The  West  Bygd  reached  from  lat.  66°  down  to  62°,  and  con- 
tained, in  its  best  days,  ninety  farms  and  four  churches.  South  of  it  lay  the 
desert, "  Ubygd,"  of  seventy  geographical  miles,  terminated  by  the  East  Bygd, 
consisting  of  190  farms,  and  having  two  towns,  Gardar  and  Alba,  one  cathedral, 
and  eleven  churches.  The  whole  population  may  probably  have  amounted  to 
6000  souls.  The  country  was  governed  by  Icelandic  laws,  and  the  first  of  its 
eighteen  bishops,  Arnold,  was  elected  in  1121,  the  last  being  Endride  Andrea- 
son,  who  was  consecrated  in  1406.  In  spite  of  its  poverty  and  distance,  Green- 
land was  obliged  to  contribute  its  mite  to  the  revenues  of  the  Papal  chair,  for 
we  read  in  the  ancient  annalists  that  in  1326  its  tribute,  consisting  of  walrus- 
teeth,  was  sold  by  the  Pope's  agent,  Bertram  of  Ortolis,  to  a  merchant  of  Flan- 
ders for  the  sum  of  twelve  livres  and  fourteen  sous. 

The  time,  however,  was  now  fast  approaching  when  the  Greenland  colony 
was  not  only  to  cease  paying  tithes  and  Peter's  pence,  but  to  be  swept  away. 
During  the  course  of  the  fourteenth  century  it  was  visited  by  one  misfortune 
after  another.  The  black  death,  which  carried  off  twenty-five  millions  of  Euro- 
peans, did  not  spare  its  distant  fjords  (1348-9),  the  Esquimaux  harassed  the 
survivors  with  repeated  attacks,  killing  some,  and  carrying  away  others  captive. 
A  hostile  fleet,  suspected  to  be  English,  laid  w^aste  the  country  in  1418;  and, 
finallv,  the  revolutions  and  wars  which  broke  out  in  Scandinavia  after  the  death 
of  Queen  Margaret  of  Waldemar  caused  Greenland  to  be  entirely  neglected  and 
forgotten.  The  last  colonists  cither  retreated  to  Iceland,  or  were  destroyed  by 
the  Esquimaux,  and  many  years  elapsed  before  Greenland  was  again  thought  of 
as  a  place  where  Scandinavians  had  once  been  living.  At  length  King  Frederick 
II.  of  Denmark  sent  out  Mogens  Heineson,  a  famous  "  sea-cock,"  as  the  chroni- 
clers style  him,  to  the  south-eastern  coast  o£  Greenland  (1581),  to  see  if  men  of 
a  Norse  origin  still  dwelt  along  those  ice-bound  fjords.  Heineson  reached  the 
coast,  but  the  great  transparency  of  the  air,  which  in  the  Polar  regions  frequent- 
ly causes  strange  optical  delusions,  led  him  into  a  singular  error.  After  having 
sailed  for  many  hours  in  the  same  direction,  and  still  seeing  the  mountains  which 
seemed  quite  near  recede  as  he  advanced,  he  fancied  himself  fettered  by  an  in- 
visible power,  and  thus?  the  famous  "  sea-cock  "  returned  home  with  the  report 
that,  detained  by  a  magnetic  rock,  he  had  not  been  able  to  reach  the  land. 

In  1605  King  Christian  IV.  of  Denmark  sent  out  a  new  Greenland  expedi- 
tion, consisting  of  three  ships,  under  the  command  of  Godske  Lindenow,  and 
the  guidance  of  James  Hall,  an  English  pilot.  This  time  no  magnetic  rocks  in- 
tervened ;  but  the  ships  having  separated.  Hall  landed  on  the  west  coast,  which 
had  already  been  rediscovered  and  visited  by  Davis,  Hudson,  Baftin,  and  other 
Arctic  navigators  ;  while  Lindenow,  anchoring  off  Cape  Farewell,  kidnapped  two 
Esquimaux,  who  afterwards  died  of  nostalgia  in  Denmark.  But  neither  Linde- 
now, who  the  year  after  again  made  his  appearance  on  the  western  coast  of 
Greenland,  nor  two  later  expeditions  under  Carsten  Richardson  and  Dannell,  were 
able  to  effect  a  landing  on  any  part  of  the  eastern  coast.  It  was  in  sight,  but 
the  drift-ice  made  it  inaccessible.  They  were  equally  misuccessful  in  finding 
any  traces  of  the  lost  colony,  which  came  at  length  to  be  regarded  as  a  mere 


384  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

Scandinavian  myth.  But  while  no  one  else  cared  about  its  existence,  the  ardent 
Hans  Egede  (born  in  Norway,  January  31, 1686),  pastor  of  Vaage,  in  the  Lofo- 
ten Islands,  still  continued  to  cherish  its  memory.  He  liad  read  in  the  ancient 
chronicles  about  the  old  Christian  communities  in  Greenland,  and  could  not  be- 
lieve in  their  total  extinction.  He  felt  the  deepest  concern  in  the  fate  of  their 
descendants,  and  the  thought  that  after  so  long  a  separation  from  the  mother- 
country  they  must  needs  be  plunged  in  barbarism  and  heathen  darkness,  left 
him  no  rest  by  night  or  day.  At  length  he  resolved  to  devote  his  life  to  their 
spiritual  welfare,  and  to  become  the  apostle  of  rediscovered  or  regenerated 
Greenland.  His  zeal  and  perseverance  overcame  a  thousand  difficulties.  Nei- 
ther the  public  ridicule,  nor  the  coldness  of  the  authorities  to  whom  he  vainly 
applied- for  assistance,  nor  the  exhortations  of  his  friends,  could  damp  his  ardor. 
At  length,  after  years  of  fruitless  endeavors,  after  having  given  up  his  living 
and  sacrificed  his  little  fortune  in  the  prosecution  of  his  plans,  he  succeeded  in 
forming  a  Greenland  Company,  with  a  capital  of  9000  dollars,  and  in  obtaining  an 
annual  stipend  from  the  Danish  Missionary  Fund  of  300  dollars,  to  which  King 
Frederic  lY.  added  a  gift  of  200  dollars.  With  three  ships,  the  largest  of 
which  "  The  Hope,"  had  forty  colonists  on  board,  Egede,  accompanied  by  his 
wife  and  four  children,  set  sail  from  the  port  of  Bergen  on  May  12, 1721,  and 
reached  Greenland  on  July  3,  after  a  long  and  tedious  passage.  The  winds  had 
driven  him  to  the  western  coast,  in  latitude  64°,  and  here  be  resolved  at  once 
to  begin  his  evangelical  labors  with  the  Esquimaux.  A  wooden  chapel  was 
speedily  erected,  which  formed  the  first  nucleus  of  the  still  existing  settlement 
of  Godthaab. 

But  if  the  life  of  worthy  Egede  had  for  many  a  year  been  full  of  trouble  be- 
fore he  went  to  Greenland,  trials  still  more  severe  awaited  him  during  his  apos- 
tolical career.  He  had  not  merely  the  suspicions  of  the  Esquimaux,  the  enmity 
of  their  medicine-men,  the  severity  of  the  climate,  and  not  seldom  even  famine 
to  contend  with.  His  own  countrymen,  disappointed  in  their  hopes  of  carrying 
on  a  lucrative  trade  with  the  Greenlanders,  resolved  to  abandon  it  altogether, 
and,  after  ten  laborious  years,  the  Government  not  only  withdrew  all  further  as- 
sistance from  the  mission,  but  even  ordered  the  colony  to  be  broken  up.  All 
his  companions,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  volunteers'  who  engaged  to  share 
his  fortunes,  now  returned  to  Denmark  ;  but  Egede,  though  his  health  had  been 
so  shattered  by  almost  superhuman  exertions  that  he  had  long  since  been  obliged 
to  leave  all  active  duties  to  his  son,  resolved,  like  a  faithful  soldier,  to  die  at  his 
post.  In  1*733  his  persevei'ance  was  at  length  rewarded  by  the  grateful  news 
that  the  king,  at  the  entreaty  of  Count  Zinzendoi'f,  the  founder  of  Ilerrenhuth, 
had  consented  to  bestow  an  annual  grant  of  2000  dollars  on  the  Greenland  mis- 
sion, and  that  three  Moravian  brothers  had  arrived  to  assist  him  in  his  work. 
Thus  he  could  at  length  (1735)  return  with  a  quiet  heart  to  his  native  country, 
where  he  died,  universally  regretted,  in  1758,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two. 

It  may  easily  be  supposed  that,  during  his  long  stay  in  Greenland,  he  anx- 
iously sought  the  ti-aces  of  his  lost  countrymen,  for  the  desire  to  help  them  had 
first  led  him  to  that  Arctic  country.  Nothing  in  the  physiognomy  of  the  Es- 
quimaux or  in  their  language  pointed  in  any  way  to  a  European  origin,  and 


GREENLAND.  385 

even  their  traditions  said  not  a  word  of  ttie  old  Norse  settlers  who  had  once 
inhabited  the  land.  Tlie  ruins  of  some  churches,  and  other  buildings  scattered 
here  and  there  along  the  west  coast,  alone  attested  their  existence,  and  formed 
a  link  between  the  past  and  the  present.  Thus  if  Greenland  still  had  inhabit- 
ants of  Scandinavian  origin,  they  must  necessarily  be  confined  to  the  eastern 
coast  beyond  Cape  Farewell.  But  Egede  Avap  as  little  able  as  his  predecessors 
to  penetrate  through  the  ice-belt  Avhich,  both  by  land  and  sea,  completely  sepa- 
rated it  from  the  rest  of  the  world. 

For  many  years  after  his  death  it  remained  imknown  and  inaccessible ;  and 
Lowenorn,  who  was  sent  out  in  1786-87  to  renew  the  attempts  of  Heineson 
and  Lindenow,  had  mo  better  success.  No  doubt  many  a  whaler  may  have  ad- 
mired its  distant  mountain  joeaks  glowing  in  the  evening  sun,  or  may  have  been 
driven  by  the  storm  against  its  shores,  but  the  Scoresbys  were  the  first  to  de- 
termine accurately  the  position  of  part  of  its  well-fenced  coast.  In  the  year 
1817,  Captain  Scoresby  the  elder,  deviating  fi'ora  the  usual  course  of  the  whalers, 
steered  through  the  Avestern  ice,  and  reached  the  east  coast  of  Greenland  be- 
yond 70°,  He  could  easily  have  landed;  the  coast  which  had  so  frequently 
baffled  the  attempts  of  previous  navigators  lay  invitingly  before  him,  but  he 
could  not  sacrifice  his  duty  as  the  commander  of  a  whaler  to  curiosity  or  re- 
nown. And  thus,  without  having  set  his  foot  on  shore,  he  sailed  back  into  the 
open  sea.  On  a  later  visit,  however,  he  landed  in  the  sound  which  bears  his 
name.  In  the  year  1822  Scoresby  the  younger  succeeded  in  more  closely  ex- 
amining the  land.  Leaving  the  usual  track  of  the  whalers,  he  had  steered  to 
the  west,  and  threaded  his  way  through  the  drift-ice  until,  between  70°  33'  and 
71°  12'  N.  lat.,  the  coast  of  Greenland  lay  before  him.  No  coast  that  he  had 
ever  seen  before  had  so  majestic  a  character.  The  mountains,  on  which  he  be- 
stowed the  name  of  Roscoe,  consisted  of  numberless  jagged  stones  or  pyramids, 
rising  in  individual  peaks  to  a  height  of  3000  feet,  and  a  chaos  of  sharp  needles 
covered  their  rough  declivities. 

On  July  24  he  landed  on  a  rocky  promontory,  Avhich  he  named  Cape  Lister 
(70°  30'),  and,  climbing  its  summit,  continued  his  excursion  along  its  back,  which 
was  between  three  and  four  hundred  feet  high.  Here  and  there  between  the 
stones,  which  were  either  naked  or  thinly  clothed  Avith  lichens,  bloomed  Andro- 
meda tetragona,  a  Saxifmga  oppositi folia,  a  Papaver  omdicanle,  or  a  Ranun- 
culus nivalis.  At  Cape  Swainson  he  again  descended  to  the  shore,  which  here 
formed  aflat  strand  about  600  feet  broad.  Some  deserted  Esquimaux  huts  soon 
arrested  his  attention.  Charred  drift-wood  and  a  quantity  of  ashes  lay  scattered 
about  the  hearths,  and  proA^ed  that  these  dweflings  had  not  been  long  forsaken. 
Scarcely  a  bird  Avas  to  be  seen  on  land,  but  countless  auks  and  divers  animated 
the  waters.  A  great  number  of  winged  insects — butterflies,  bees,  mosquitoes 
— ^flew  or  buzzed  about,  particularly  on  the  hillocks  betAveen  the  stones.  On 
July  25  he  once  more  landed  on  Cape  Hope,  Avhere  he  again  found  traces  of  in- 
habitants. Bones  of  hares  and  fragments  of  reindeer  horns  lay  scattered  about 
on  the  ground.  The  skull  of  a  dog  Avas  planted  on  a  sitiall  mound  of  eartli, 
for  it  is  a  belief  of  the  Greenland  Esquimaux  that  the  dog,  Avho  finds  his  Ayny 
everywhere,  must  necessarily  be  the  best  guide  of  the  innocent  children  to  the 

25 


386  THE   POLAR  AVORLD. 

land  of  souls.  The  heat,  which  soon  put  an  end  to  this  excursion,  was  so  great 
that  many  of  the  plants  had  shed  their  seeds,  and  some  were  already  complete- 
ly dried  up  and  shrivelled. 

The  part  of  the  coast  of  East  Greenland  discovered  by  Scoresby,  and  that 
which  was  visited  the  year  after  by  Clavering,  lay,  however,  too  far  to  the  north 
to  aiford  any  clue  about  the  extinct  Scandinavian  settlements,  even  supposing 
them,  as  was  then  still  believed,  to  have  been  partly  situated  to  the  east  of  Capo 
Farewell.  At  length  in  the  year  1829,  Captain  Graah,  who  had  been  sent  out 
by  King  Frederick  VI.  of  Denmark,  succeeded  in  exploring  the  south-eastern 
coast  of  Greenland,  from  its  southern  extremity  to  the  latitude  of  65°  18', 
beyond  which  no  colony  could  ever  have  existed;  and  as  .he  nowhere  found 
either  the  most  insignificant  ruins  or  the  least  traces  of  an  ancient  Christian 
settlement  in  the  language  and  customs  of  the  natives,  it  was  now  fully  proved 
that  the  east  bygd  of  the  old  chroniclers  was,  in  reality,  situated  on  the  south- 
western coast  of  Greenland,  in  the  present  districts  of  Julianshaab  and  Lichte- 
nau,  a  coast  which,  in  comparison  with  the  more  northern  colonies  of  Frederik- 
shaab  and  Fiskernas,  distinctly  trends  to  the  east. 

The  present  Danish  settlements,  which  are  confined  to  the  more  sheltered 
fjords  of  its  w^estern  coast,  are  divided  into  a  north  and  south  inspectorate,  the 
former  extending  from  lat.  6*7°  to  72°,  and  comprising  the  districts  of  Upernavik, 
Omenak,  Jakobshavn,  Christianshaab,  Egedesminde,  and  Godhavn,  on  Disco 
Island  ;  while  the  latter  contains  the  districts  of  Holsteensborg,  Sukkertoppen, 
Godthaah,  Fiskernasset,  Frederikshaab,  and  Julianshaab. 

In  the  year  1855  the  population  of  the  South  Inspectorate  consisted  of  6128 
aboriginal  Greenlanders,  or  Esquimaux,.and  120  Europeans;  that  of  tlie  North 
Inspectorate,  of  3516  of  the  former,  and  128  of  the  latter  ;  a  very  small  number 
if  we  consider  that  it  is  scattered  over  a  space  of  12°  of  latitude.  In  a  country 
like  this,  such  towns  as  Godhavn,  with  150  inhabitants,  or  Godthaab,  the  most 
populous  of  all,  with  330,  pass  for  considerable  cities. 

But,  in  spite  of  its  scanty  population,  Greenland  is  a  valuable  possession  of 
the  Danish  crown,  or  rather  of  the  Danish  company,  which  entirely  monopolizes 
the  trade,  and  manages  its  affairs  so  well  that  the  Greenlander  receives  for  his 
produce  only  about  the  sixth  part  of  its  price  at  Copenhagen.  According  to 
the  average  of  six  years  (1850-1855),  the  total  value  of  the  exports  from 
Greenland  amounted  to  378,588  rix-dollars;  that  of  the  importations  from 
Denmark,  to  164,215;  but  in  the  latter  sura  was  included  not  only  the  price 
paid  to  the  Greenlanders  for  their  goods,  but  all  the  stores  and  provisions 
necessary  for  the  agents  and  servants  of  the  company,  the  missionaries,  and  the 
administration  of  the  colony.  The  trifling  amount  which,  after  all  deductions 
and  charges,  the  poor  Greenlander  receives  for  his  seal-skins  or  his  blubber, 
he  generally  spends  in  tobacco,  candy-sugar,  coffee,  and  sea-biscuits,  for  his  real 
wants  are  amply  supplied  by  his  own  country,  and  he  has  not  yet  learned  to 
invest  his  gains  more  profitably.  Like  all  other  Esquimaux,  he  depends  chiefly 
upon  the  sea  for  his"  subsistence.  Of  the  various  species  of  Phoca?  found  in 
the,  Greenland  waters  the  most  valuable  is  the  hispid  seal  {PJioca  liispida)^ 
both  from  its  numbers  and  from  its  frequenting  the  fjords  during  the  whole 


GREENLAND.  387 

year;  while  the  larger  Greenland  seal  {Phoea  groenlandiea)  is  not  stationary 
like  the  former,  but  leaves  the  coast  from  March  to  May,  and  from  July  to 
September.  The  Gystophora  cristata,  or  hooded  seal,  remarkable  for  a  globular 
sac,  capable  of  inflation,  on  the  head  of  the  male,  appears  in  the  fjords  only 
from  April  till  June.  It  is  the  most  pugnacious  of  all  the  seals.  In  the  south- 
ern districts,  where  the  seal-hunting  must  be  chiefly  carried  on  in  open  water, 
the  Greenlander  relies  upon  his  boat,  the  kayak.  When  the  animal  is  struck, 
the  barbed  point  of  the  harpoon  detaches  itself,  by  an  ingenious  mechanism, 
from  the  shaft,  which  otherwise  would  be  broken  by  its  violent  contortions ; 
and  as  the  line  is  attached  to  a  bladder,  it  can  easily  be  recovered. 

Among  the  cetaceans,  the  white  dolphin  {Belphinopterus  leucas)  and  the 
narwhal  {Monodo7i  monoceros)  are  the  most  valuable  to  the  Greenlanders  of 
the  North  Inspectorate,  from  500  to  600  of  these  huge  animals  being  annually 
caught.  The  former  makes  its  appearance  a  short  time  after  the  breaking  up 
of  the  ice,  and  again  in  autumn ;  in  summer  it  seeks  the  open  sea.  Sometimes 
large  herds  of  the  white  dolphins  are  cut  off  from  the  sea  by  the  closing  in  of 
the  ice  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  land,  so  that  several  hundred  may  be  killed 
in  the  course  of  a  few  days.  The  narwhal  is  caught  only  in  the  Omenak  fjord, 
which  it  visits  regularly  in  November.  As  its  chase  is  both  difficult  and  dan- 
derous,  the  Greenlanders  generally  hunt  it  in  company,  so  that  after  a  narwhal 
has  been  struck  with  the  first  harpoon  or  lance,  others  are  ready  to  follow  up 
the  advantage.  The  larger  whales  are  now  seldom  caught,  but  the  dead  body 
of  a  fin-back  is  not  seldom  cast  ashore,  and  affords  a  rich  harvest  to  the  neigh- 
borhood. Sometimes  masses  of  oil,  evidently  proceeding  from  dead  whales, 
are  found  floating  in  the  fjords.  In  1854  ninety -five  tons  of  this  matter  were 
collected  near  Holsteinburg. 

The  fishes  likewise  amply  contribute  to  supply  the  Gree7>lander's  wants. 
The  shark-fishery  {Scymnus  micro cephalus)  is  of  considerable  importance. 
Tlie  entrails  of  seals  and  other  offal  are  placed  in  the  openings  of  the  ice  to  at- 
tract these  sharks  to  the  spot,  where  they  are  caught  in  various  ways,  particu- 
larly by  torch-light,  which  brings  them  to  the  surface.  The  fishermen,  watch- 
ing the  moment,  strike  them  Avith  a  sharp  hook,  and  then  drag  them  upon  the 
ice.  They  are  also  caught  with  strong  iron  angles  attached  to  chains.  They 
are  captured  for  the  sake  of  their  livers,  which  yield  a  good  deal  of  oil.  It  has 
very  recently  been  ascertained  that  a  valuable  substance  resembling  spermaceti 
may  be  expressed  from  the  carcass  which  was  formerly  wasted,  and  for  this 
purpose  powerful  screw  presses  are  now  employed.  About  30,000  of  these 
gluttonous  animals  are  caught  every  year,  and  the  fishery  may  be  greatly  ex- 
tended, as  the  bottom  of  the  ice-fjords  absolutely  swarms  with  them.  Their 
capture  is  attended  with  far  less  trouble  and  danger  than  in  Iceland,  where 
they  are  pursued  in  boats,  and  in  a  capricious  and  tempestuous  sea.  Improv- 
ing upon  the  old  Esquimaux  methods  of  fishing  or  hunting,  the  Danish  resi- 
dents set  nets  for  the  white  whale  or  the  seal ;  for  the  former,  they  are  attach- 
ed to  the  shoi'e,  and  extend  off  at  right  angles,  so  as  to  intercept  them  in  their 
autumnal  southern  migration,  when  they  swim  close  along  the  rocks  to  avoid 
the  grampus.     Yf hen  the  white  whale  is  stopped  by  the  net,  it  often  apjiears 


388  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

at  first  to  be  unconscious  of  the  fact,  and  continues  to  swim  against  it,  and 
then  allows  the  boat  to  approach  it  from  behind.  If  entangled  in  the  net,  it  is 
soon  drowned,  as,  like  all  the  Avhale  tribe,  it  is  obliged  to  come  to  the  surface 
to  breathe. 

A  large  quantity  of  cod  are  caught  in  various  parts  of  the  South  Inspecto- 
rate, particularly  at  Fiskernasset,  which,  being  less  subject  to  fogs  and  more 
exposed  to  the  sea-wind,  offers  peculiar  advantages  for  the  drying  of  the  fish. 
The  capelin  {JIallotiis  villosus),  which  in  May  and  June  visits  the  coasts  of 
Greenland  in  great  numbers,  is  eaten  both  fresh  or  laid  upon  the  rocks  to  dry 
for  the  winter.  The  sea-wolf,  the  lump-fish,  the  bull-head,  the  Norway  had- 
dock, the  salmon-trout,  are  likewise  important  articles  of  food.  The  halibut 
o-rows  to  a  huge  size,  and  a  smaller  species  {Hipj^oglossus  jyinguis)  is  fished  for 
at  the  depth  of  180  or  even  380  fathoms.  The  banks  frequented  by  this  fish 
are  most  valuable  to  the  neighboring  Greenlanders.  Many  are  no  doubt  still 
undiscovered,  others  may  be  known  by  the  dead  fish  floating  on  the  surface,  or 
by  the  seals  diving  out  of  the  water  with  a  flat  fish  in  their  mouth.  Long-tail- 
ed crabs  are  easily  caught  in  many  parts,  and  the  common  mussel  may  be 
gathered  almost  everywhere  at  ebb  tide. 

Crowds  of  birds  nestle  during  the  summer  on  the  rocky  shores,  particularly 
at  Upernavik,  where  the  largest  breeding-places  are  found.  They  are  general- 
ly killed  with  small  blunted  arrows.  In  the  ice-fjord  of  Jacobshavn  the  gulls 
are  caught  ingeniously  by  floating  traps  on  which  something  brilliant  or  re- 
sembling a  fish  is  fixed.  The  eggs  of  the  sea-birds  are  gathered  in  vast  num- 
bers, and  the  feathers  and  skins  of  the  eider-duck  and  auk  are  both  exported 
and  used  for  the  lining  of  boots. 

Compared  with  the  wealth  of  the  seas,  the  land  is  very  poor.  The  chase  of 
the  reindeer  is,  however,  important,  as  its  skin  affords  both  a  warmer  and  a 
softer  clothing  than  that  of  the  seal,  and  serVes  moreover  as  a  bed-cover  or  a 
sledge-carpet.  Reindeer-hunting  is  a  favorite  summer  occupation  of  the  Green- 
landers,  who  annually  kill  from  10,000  to  20,000,  and  export  about  one-half  of 
the  skins.  Only  a  few  cows,  sheep,  and  goats  are  kept  at  Julianshaab.  For 
want  of  liay  they  are  fed  with  fish  during  the  winter.  In  South  Greenland  the 
potato  is  cultivated  by  the  European  residents  as  a  luxury.  The  plant  never 
flowers,  and  even  buds  are  rare.  Turnips,  cabbages,  salad,  and  spinach  like- 
wise grow  in  South  Greenland,  but  barley  sown  in  the  gardens  scarcely  ever 
comes  to  ear.  In  summer  the  windows  of  the  houses  are  gay  with  geraniums 
and  fuchsias  and  other  flowers  of  a  more  temperate  zone. 

Among  the  indigenous  plants,  the  berries  of  the  Empetrum  nigrum,  Vac- 
cinimn  uliginositm,  and  Vaccinium  vitis  idcea  furnish  the  Greenlanders  with 
their  only  vegetable  food.  While  the  coasts  exposed  to  the  bleak  sea-winds 
afford  scanty  traces  of  vegetation,  the  valleys  and  hill  slopes  of  the  more 
sheltered  fjords  are  green  during  the  summer,  and  justify  the  name  bestowed 
by  Erick  on  the  land  of  his  adoption.  Forests  are  of  course  out  of  the  question 
in  Greenland,  though  in  some  places  the  birch  attains  a  not  inconsiderable 
size.  Thus  in  a  dell  at  the  upper  end  of  Lichtenau  Fjord  a  thicket  of  these 
trees,  fifteen  feet  high,  surrounds  a  little  lake  fed  by  a  waterfall,  the  largest 


GREENLAITO.  389 

hitherto  known  in  Greenland.  More  generally,  however,  the  trees,  such  as  the 
beech,  the  willow,  the  elder,  etc.,  merely  creep  along  the  ground,  where  the 
dense  matting  of  their  roots  and  branches,  mingled  with  bushes  of  the  empe- 
trura,  or  with  mosses,  lichens,  and  fallen  leaves,  forms  a  kind  of  turf  which  is 
used  as  fuel  by  the  Danes. 

In  some  measure  the  sea  makes  up  for  the  want  of  timber  by  casting  on  the 
shore  a  quantity  of  drift-wood,  the  origin  of  which  is  still  a  matter  of  doubt, 
some  tracing  it  to  the  North  American  rivers,  others  to  those  of  Siberia.  It 
consists  mostly  of  the  uprooted  trunks  of  coniferous  trees.  Sometimes  also 
large  pieces  of  bark,  such  as  those  of  which  the  Indians  make  their  canoes,  and 
sewn  together  with  threads  of  hair,  and  drifted  into  the  fjords. 

The  mineral  kingdom,  though  it  has  within  the  last  few  years  attracted,  the 
attention  of  speculators,  will  hardly  ever  realize  their  hopes.  Several  attempts 
to  work  the  lead  and  copper  ores  at  Nanursoak  and  in  the  Arksak  fjord  have 
miserably  failed.  The  cost  of  transport  is  immense,  and  the  difficulty  of  ob- 
taining the  necessary  workmen  presents  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  all  mining 
oi^erations  in  Greenland. 

Though  the  Greenlanders  have  now  been  for  more  than  a  century  under  the 
influence  of  Christian  teachers,  yet  their  mode  of  life  is  still  much  the  same  as 
that  of  their  relatives  the  wild  Esquimaux  on  the  opposite  continent  of  North 
America.  Like  them,  they  use  the  "  kayak,"  the  "  oomiak,"  and  the  sledge  ; 
like  them,  they  live  in  small  winter  huts  of  stone  (the  snow-house  is  unknown 
to  them)  or  in  summer  tents  hung  with  skins,  and  they  are  equally  improvi- 
dent in  times  of  abundance.  Their  constant  intercourse  with  Europeans  has, 
however,  taught  them  the  use  of  many  luxuries  unknown  to  the  Avild  Esqui- 
maux, and  they  are  now  great  consumers  of  coffee.  They  are  fond  of  instruc- 
tion, but  the  immense  space  over  which  the  population  is  scattered,  and  their 
vagrant  life  during  a  great  part  of  the  year,  are  great  hinderances  to  their  im- 
provement. They  are  also  very  good-natured,  and  live  on  the  best  terms  with 
the  Danes  who  reside  among  them.  The  latter,  who,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Moravian  missionaries,  are  all  in  the  service  of  the  Company,  soon  get  attached 
to  the  country,  and  leave  it  with  regret ;  sometimes  even  returning  to  close 
their  days  in  Greenland. 

The  climate,  though  severe,  is  very  healthy,  and  the  lover  of  sport  finds  am- 
ple opportunities  for  gratifying  his  favorite  passion.  In  September,  or  at  the 
beginning  of  October,  the  last  ships  leave  for  Europe ;  and  then,  till  the  next 
April  or  May — when  the  first  English  whalers  appear  in  the  ports  of  Godhavn 
or  Upernavik — all  communication  with  the  civilized  world  is  totally  cut  off. 
Towards  the  end  of  January  or  the  beginning  of  February,  when  the  days  begin 
rapidly  to  lengthen,  frequent  sledge-parties  keep  up  a  constant  interchange  of 
visits  between  the  various  settlements.  This  mode  of  travelling  over  the  lakes 
and  inclosed  fjords  is  very  agreeable  in  May,  as  then  the  sun  is  pleasantly 
warm  at  noon ;  and  though  he  hardly  disappears  below  the  horizon,  the  nights 
are  sufficiently  cold  to  convert  the  melted  snow  into  ice  hard  enough  to  bear 
the  weight  of  a  sledge.  This  is  the  best  time  for  visiting  many  interesting 
spots  inaccessible  at  other  seasons  of  the  year,  and  for  enjoying  many  a  scene 


390  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

unsuvpassed  in  Switzerland  itself.  Here,  as  on  the  Alps,  the  glacier  and  the 
snow-clad  peak  appear  in  all  their  grandeur ;  here  also,  in  the  valleys,  the  sum- 
mer brooks  flow  between  well-clothed  banks,  and  the  Helvetian  lakes  are  wor- 
thily rivalled  by  the  raaguiticent  fjords  of  Greenland. 

In  many  parts,  the  Avaves,  beating  against  the  steep  coasts  of  the  islands 
and  fjords,  render  access  diflicult,  if  not  impossible  during  the  summer,  but  in 
winter  or  spring  they  may  easily  be  visited  across  the  ice.  The  surf  has  worn 
many  caves  in  these  precipitous  rock-walls,  which  are  no  less  remarkable  for 
tlieir  picturesque  basaltic  forms  than  for  the  huge  masses  of  ice  on  their  sides, 
which,  in  their  tints  and  grouping,  far  surpass  the  stalactites  of  the  most  re- 
nowned European  grottoes. 


THE  ANTARCTIC  OCEAN.  391 


CHAPTER  XXXVIL 

THE  ANTARCTIC   OC^AN.  . 

Comparative  View  of  the  Antarctic  and  Arctic  Regions.— Inferiority  of  Climate  of  tlie  former.— Its 
Causes.— Tiie  New  Shetland  Islands.— South  Georgia. — The  Peiiivian  Stream.— Sea-birds.— The  Gi- 
ant Petrel.— The  Albatross.— The  Penguin.— The  Austral  Whale.— The  Hunchback.— The  Fin-back. 
—The  Grampus.— Battle  with  a  Whale.— The  Sea-elephant.— The  Southern  Sea-bear.— The  Sea- 
leopard. — Antarctic  Fishes. 

THE  Antarctic  regions  are  far  more  desolate  and  barren  than  the  Arctic. 
Here  we  have  no  energetic  hunters,  like  the  Esquimaux,  chasing  the  seal 
or  the  walrus ;  no  herdsmen  following,  like  the  Samoiedes  or  the  Lapps,  their 
reindeer  to  the  brink  of  the  icy  ocean ;  but  all  is  one  dreary,  uninhabitable 
waste.  "While  within  the  Arctic  Circle  the  musk-ox  enjoys  an  abundance  of 
food,  and  the  lemming  is  still  found  thriving  on  the  bleakest  islands,  not  a  sin- 
gle land  quadruped  exists  beyond  56°  of  southern  latitude. 

Summer  flowers  gladden  the  sight  of  the  Arctic  navigator  in  the  most  north- 
ern lands  yet  reached ;  but  no  plant  of  any  description — not  even  a  moss  or  a 
lichen — has  been  observed  beyond  Cockburn  Island  in  64°  12'  S.  lat. ;  and  while 
even  in  Spitzbergen  vegetation,  ascends  the  mountain  slopes  to  a  height  of  3000 
feet  the  snow-line  descends  to  the  water's  edge  in  every  land  within  or  near  the 
Antarctic  Circle.  * 

An  open  sea,  extending  towards  the  northern  pole  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach, 
points  out  the  path  to  future  discovery ;  but  the  Antarctic  navigators,  with  one 
single  exception,  have  invariably  seen  their  progress  arrested  by  barriers  of  ice, 
and  none  have  ever  penetrated  beyond  the  comparatively  low  latitude  of 
78°  10'. 

Even  in  Spitzbei-gen  and  East  Greenland,  Scoresby  sometimes  found  the 
heat  of  summer  very  great ;  but  the  annals  of  Antarctic  navigation  invariably 
speak  of  a  frigid  temperature.  In  1773,  when  Captain  Phipps  visited  Spitzber- 
gen, the  thermometer  once  rose  to  -{-58^°;  and  on  July  15,  1820,  when  the 
"  Hecla"  left  her  winter-quarters  in  Melville  Island  (74°  47'  N.),she  enjoyed  a 
Avarmth  of  +56°.  But  during  the  summer  months  spent  by  Sir  James  Ross 
in  the  Antarctic  Polar  area,  the  temperature  of  the  air  never  once  exceeded 
+  41°  5'.  In  Northumberland  Sound  (76°  42' N.),  probably  the  coldest  spot 
hitherto  visited  in  the  north,  the  mean  of  the  three  summer  months  was  found 
to  be  +30°  8',  while  within  the  Antarctic  Circle  it  only  amounted  to  +27°  3'. 

The  reader  may  possibly  wonder  why  the  climate  of  the  southern  polar  re- 
gions is  so  much  more  severe  than  that  of  the  high  northern  latitudes ;  or  why 
coasts  and  valleys,  at  equal  distances  from  the  equator,  should  in  one  case  be 
found  green  with  vegetation,  and  in  another  mere  wastes  of  snow  and  ice ;  but 
the  predominance  of  land  in  the  north,  and  of  sea  in  the  south,  fully  answers 


392  THE   POLAR  WOULD. 

the  question.  Within  the  Arctic  Circle  we  see  vast  continental  masses  project- 
ing far  to  the  north,  so  as  to  form  an  almost  continuous  belt  round  the  icy 
sea ;  while  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  the  continents  taper  down  in  a  vast  ex- 
tent of  open  ocean.  In  the  north,  the  plains  of  Siberia  and  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  territories,  warmed  by  the  sunbeams  of  summer,  become  at  that  season 
centres  of  radiating  heat,  so  that  in  many  parts  the  growth  of  forests,  or  even 
the  culture  of  the  cereals,  advances  as  high  as  70°  of  latitude ;  while  the  An- 
tarctic lands  ai-e  of  a  comparatively  small  extent,  and  isolated  in  the  midst  of 
frigid  waters,  whose  temperature  scarcely  varies  from  +29°  2'  even  in  the 
height  of  summer.  Mostly  situated  within  the  Antarctic  Circle,  and  constantly 
chilled  by  cold  sea-winds,  they  act  at  every  season  as  refrigerators  of  the  atmos- 
phere. 

In  the  north,  the  formation  of  icebergs  is  confined  to  a  few  mountainous 
countries,  such  as  the  west  coast  of  Greenland  or  Spitzbergen  ;  but  the  Antarc- 
tic coast-lands  generally  tower  to  a  considerable  height  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  and  the  vast  fragments  which  are  constantly  detaching  themselves  from 
their  glaciers  keep  up  the  low  temperature  of  the  seas. 

In  the  north,  the  cold  currents  of  the  Polar  Ocean,  with  their  drift-ice  and 
bergs,  have  but  the  two  Avide  gates  of  the  Greenland  Sea  and  Davis's  Strait 
through  which  they  can  emerge  to  the  south,  so  that  their  influence  is  confined 
within  comparatively  narrow  limits,  while  the  gelid  streams  of  the  Antarctic 
seas  branch  out  freely  on  all  sides,  and  convey  their  floating  ice-masses  far  and 
wide  within  the  temperate  seas.  It  is  only  to  the  west  of  Newfoundland  that 
single  icebergs  have  ever  been  known  to  descend  as  low  as  39°  of  latitude;  but 
in  the  southern  hemisjihere  they  have  been  met  with  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hojie  (35°  S.  lat.),  near  Tristan  d'Acunha,  oppo?;ite  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Rio  de  la  Plata,  and  within  a  hundred  leagues  of  Tasmania.  In  the  north,  final- 
ly, we  find  the  Gulf  Stream  conveying  warmth  even  to  the  shores  of  Spitzbergen 
and  Nova  Zembla ;  while  in  the  opposite  regions  of  the  globe,  no  traces  of  warm 
currents  have  been  observed  beyond  55°  of  latitude. 

Thus  the  predominance  of  vast  tracts  of  flat  land  in  the  boreal  hemisphere, 
and  o|  an  immense  expanse  of  ocean  in  the  Antarctic  regions,  sufiiciently  ac- 
counts for  the  festival  warmth  o'f  the  former,  and  the  comparatively  low  sum- 
mer temperature  of  the  latter. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  describe  in  detail  each  of  the  desolate  lands  which  mod- 
ern navigators  have  discovered  among  the  Antarctic  ice-fields,  but  it  may  not 
be  uninteresting  to  compare  one  or  two  of  these  dreary  wastes  with  the  lauds 
of  the  north,  situated  in  analogous  latitudes. 

The  New  Shetland  Islands,  situated  between  61°  and  63°  of  Southern  lati- 
tude, were  originally  discovered  by  Dirck  Gheritz,  a  Dutch  navigator,  who,  in 
attempting  to  round  Cape  Horn,  was  carried  by  tempestuous  weather  within 
sight  of  their  mountainous  coasts.  Long  forgotten,  they  were  re-discovered  in 
1819  by  Mr.  Sniith,  a  master  in  the  royal  navy — whom  a  storm  had  likewise 
carried  thither — and  in  the  following  year  more  accurately  examined  by  Edward 
Bransfield,  whose  name  survives  in  the  strait  which  separates  them  from  D'Ur- 
ville's  Louis  Philippe  Land. 


THE  ANTARCTIC  OCEAN.  393 

In  1829, the  "Chanticleer,"  Captam  Forster,  was  sent  to  New  Shetland  for 
the  purpose  of  making  magnetic  and  other  physical  observations,  and  remained 
for  several  months  at  Deception  Island,  which  was  selected  as  a  station  from  its 
affording  the  best  harbor  in  South  Shetland. 

Though  these  islands  are  situated  at  about  the  same  distance  from  the  pole 
as  the  Faroe  Islands  which  boast  of  numerous  flocks  of  sheep,  and  where  the 
sea  never  freezes,  yet,  when  the  "  Chanticleer  "  approached  Deception  Island,  on 
January  5  (a  month  corresponding  to  our  July),  so  many  icebergs  were  scatter- 
ed about,  that  Forster  counted  at  one  time  no  fewer  than  eighty-one.  A  gale 
having  arisen,  accompanied  by  a  thick  fog,  great  care  was  needed  to  avoid  run- 
ning foul  of  these  floating  cliffs.  After  entering  the  harbor — a  work  of  no 
slight  difticulty,  from  the  violence  of  the  wind — the  fogs  were  so  frequent  that, 
for  the  first  ten  days,  neither  sun  nor  stars  were  seen ;  and  it  was  withal  so  raw 
and  cold,  that  Lieutenant  Kendal,  to  whom  we  owe  a  short  narrative  of  the  expe- 
dition, did  not  recollect  having  suffered  more  at  any  time  in  the  Arctic  regions, 
even  at  the  lowest  range  of  the  thermometer.  In  this  desolate  land,  frozen  water 
becomes  an  integral  portion  of  the  soil ;  for  this  volcanic  island  is  composed 
chiefly  of  alternate  layers  of  ashes  and  ice,  as  if  the  snow  of  each  winter,  during 
a  series  of  years,  had  been  prevented  from  melting  in  the  following  summer,  by 
the  ejection  of  cinders  and  ashes  from  some  part  where  volcanic  action  still  goes 
on.  Early  in  March  (the  September  of  the  north)  the  freezing  over  of  the  cove 
in  which  the  ship  was  secured  gave  warning  that  it  was  high  time  for  her  to 
quit  this  desolate  port.  With  much  difiiculty  and  severe  labor,  fi-om  the  fury 
of  the  gales,  they  managed  to  get  away,  and  we  may  fully  credit  Lieutenant 
Kendal's  assertion,  that  it  Avas  a  day  of  rejoicing  to  all  on  board  when  the 
shores  of  Deception  faded  from  their  view. 

In  1775  Cook,  on  his  second  voyage,  discovered  the  large  island  of  South 
Georgia,  situated  in  latitude  54°  and  55°,  a  situation  corresponding  to  that 
of  Scarborough  or  Durham.  But  what  a  difference  in  the  climate,  for  "  we  saw 
not  a  river  or  stream  of  water,"  says  the  great  navigator, "  on  all  the  coast  of 
Georgia.  The  head  of  the  bay,  as  well  as  two  places  on  each  side,  was  termi- 
nated by  perpendicular  icebergs  of  considerable  height.  Pieces  were  continu- 
ally breaking  off  and  floating  out  to  sea,  and  a  great  fall  happened  while  we 
were  in  the  bay,  which  made  a  noise  like  a  cannon.  The  inner  parts  of  the 
counky  were  not  less  savage  and  horrible.  The  wild  rocks  raised  their  lofty 
summits  till  they  were  lost  in  the  clouds,  and  the  valley  lay  covered  with  ever- 
lasting snow.  Not  a  tree  was  to  be  seen,  not  a  shrub  even  big  enough  to  make 
a  toothpick.  The  only  vegetation  was  a  coarse  strong-bladed  grass  growing 
in  tufts,  wild  burnet,  and  a  plant  like  moss,  which  sprang  from  the  rocks.  The 
lands,  or  rather  rocks,  bordering  on  the  sea-coast  were  not  covered  with  snow 
like  the  inland  parts,  but  all  the  vegetation  we  could  see  on  the  clear  places  was 
the  grass  above  mentioned.''  To  find  scenes  of  a  similar  wintry  desolation,  we 
must  travel  in  the  north  as  far  as  Nova  Zembla  or  Spitzbergen,  which  are  20° 
or  24°  nearer  to  the  pole ! 

Thus  the  influence  of  the  cold  Antarctic  waters  extends  far  within  the  tem- 
perate zone.     We  can  trace  their  chilling  effects  in  Kerguelen  Land  (50°  S. 


394  TEE  POLAR  WORLD. 

lat.),  Avliicb  when  visited  by  Cook  in  the  height  of  summer  was  found  covered 
with  snow,  and  where  only  five  plants  in  flower  were  collected ;  in  Tierra  del 
Fuego  (53°  S.  lat.),  where  the  mean  summer  temperature  is  fully  9|°  lower  than 
that  of  Dublin  (53°  21'  K  lat.) ;  in  the  Falkland  Islands  (51°  30'),  which,  though 
flat  and  low  and  near  Patagonia,  have,  according  to  Mr.  Dai'wiu,  a  climate  simi- 
lar to  that  which  is  experienced  at  the  height  of  between  one  and  two  thousand 
feet  on  the  mountains  of  North  Wales,  with  less  sunshine  and  less  frost,  but 
more  wind  and  rain  ;  and  finally  along  the  south-west  coast  of  America,  where 
the  Peruvian  current  and  the  cold  sea-winds  so  considerably  depress  the  snow- 
line, that  while  in  Europe  the  most  southern  glacier  which  comes  down  to  the 
sea  is  met  with,  according  to  Von  Buch,  on  the  coast  of  Norway  in  lat.  67°; 
the  "  Beagle  "  found  a  glacier  fifteen  miles  long  and  in  one  part  seven  miles 
broad  descending  to  the  sea-coast  in  the  gulf  of  Penas,  iu  a  latitude  (46°  50') 
nearly  corresponding  with  that  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva. 

"  The  position  of  this  glacier,"  says  Mr.  Darwin,  "  may  be  put  even  in  a 
more  striking  point  of  view,  for  it  descends  to  the  sea-coast  within  less  than  9° 
from  where  palms  grow;  within  4^°  of  a  region  where  the  jaguar  and  puma 
range  over  the  plains,  less  than  1\°  from  arborescent  grasses,  and  (looking  to 
the  westward  in  the  same  hemisphere)  less  than  2°  from  orchideous  parasites, 
and  within  a  single  degree  of  tree-ferns  !"  As  the  influence  of  the  tropical  gulf 
stream  reaches  as  far  as  Spitzbergen,  so  that  of  the  cold  Peruvian  stream,  which 
issues  from  the  Antarctic  Seas,  extends  even  to  the  equator,  and  not  seldom  re- 
duces the  temperature  of  the  waters  about  the  Galapagos  to  less  than  -f58-|-°, 
so  that  reef-building  corals,  which  require  a  minimum  w\armth  of  +60°,  are 
unable  to  grow  near  islands  situated  directly  under  the  line. 

Though  the  Antarctic  lands  are  so  bleak  and  inclement  that  not  a  single 
quadru2)ed  is  to  be  found  within  60°  of  latitude,  yet  they  are  the  resort  of  in- 
numerable sea-birds  w^hich,  belonging  to  the  same  families  as  those  of  the  north, 
generally  form  distinct  genera  or  species,  for  with  rare  exceptions  no  bird  is 
found  to  inhabit  both  the  Arctic  and  the  Antarctic  regions. 

Thus  in  the  petrel  family  we  find  the  fulmar  {Procellaria  glacialis)  and  the 
glacial  petrel  (P.  gelidd)  of  the  high  north  represented  in  the  Antarctic  Seas 
by  the  giant  petrel  {Procellaria  gigantea),  which  extends  its  flight  from  Pata- 
gonia to  the  ice-banks  of  the  south,  where  the  Antarctic  and  the  snowy  petrels 
{P.  antarctica  et  nivea)  first  appear,  cold-loving  birds  which  never  leave  those 
dreary  waters,  and  are  often  seen  in  vast  flocks  floating  tipon  the  drift-ice. 

The  giant  petrel,  which  has  received  from  the  Spaniards  the  significant  appel- 
lation of  "  quehranta  huesos,''^  or  "  break-bones,"  is  a  more  powerful  bird  than 
the  fulmar.  It  is  larger  than  a  goose,  with  a  strong  beak  4^  inches  long.  Its 
color  is  a  dirty  black,  white  below,  and  with  Avhite  spots  on  the  neck  and  back. 
In  its  habits  and  manner  of  flight  it  closely  resembles  the  albatross,  and,  as  with 
the  albatross,  a  spectator  may  watch  it  for  hours  together  w^ithout  seeing  on 
what  it  feeds.  Like  the  fulmar  it  feasts  upon  fishes,  or  the  carcasses  of  seals  and 
cetaceans,  but  it  also  chases  other  birds.  At  Port  Saint  Antonio  it  was  seen  by 
some  of  the  officers  of  the  "  Beagle  "  pursuing  a  diver,  which  tried  to  escape  by 
diving  and  flying,  but  was  continually  struck  down,  and  at  last  killed  by  a  blow 


THE  ANTARCTIC  OCEAN.  395 

on  its  head.  Such  is  its  voracity  that  it  does  not  even  spare  its  own  kind,  for 
a  gigantic  petrel  having  been  badly  wounded  by  a  shot  from  the  "  Terror," 
and  falling  at  too  great  a  distance  for  a  boat  to  be  sent  after  it,  was  immediate- 
ly attacked  by  two  others  of  the  same  kind  and  torn  to  pieces.  It  is  a  common 
bird  both  in  the  open  sea  and  in  the  inland  channels  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  and 
the  south-west  coast  of  America. 

The  wandering  albatross  {Biomedea  exulans),  closely  allied  to  the  petrels, 
and  rivalling  the  condor  in  size  and  strength  of  wing,  may  truly  be  ranked  among 
the  Antarctic  birds,  as  it  is  s«dom  seen  in  a  lower  latitude  than  36°,  and  in- 
creases in  numbers  towards  the  south.  Freyssinet  saw  it  most  frequently  be- 
tween 55°  and  59°  S.  lat.,  and  it  probably  knows  no  other  limits  than  those  of 
the  Polar  ice.  It  is  found  in  every  meridian  of  this  enormous  zone,  but  the 
regions  of  storms— the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  Cape  Horn—are  its  favorite 
resorts.  ,  Here  it  may  frequently  be  seen  in  the  full  majesty  of  its  flight. 

The  auks  of  the  northern  hemisphere  are  represented,  in  the  austral  regions, 
by  the  penguins,  who,  as  Buffon  remarks,  are  the  least  bird-like  of  all  birds. 
Their  small  wing-stumps,  covered  with  short  rigid  scale-like  feathers,  are  alto- 
gether incapable  of  raising  the  body  in  the  air,  but  serve  as  admirable  paddles 
hi  the  water,  and  on  land  as  fore  feet,  with  whose  help  they  so  alertly  scale  the 
grassy  cliffs  that  they  might  easily  be  mistaken  for  quadrupeds.  Their  feet, 
like  those  of  the  auks,  are  placed  so  far  back  that  the,  body  is  quite  upright 
when  the  bird  is  standing  on  the  ground,  a  position  which  renders  their  gait 
imcommonly  slow  and  awkward,  but  greatly  facilitates  their  movements  in  the 
water.  When  at  sea  and  fishing,  the  penguin  comes  to  the  surface  for  the  pur- 
pose of  breathing  with  such  a  spring,  and  dives  again  so  instantaneously,  that  at 
first  sight  no  one  can  be  sure  that  it  is  not  a  fish  leaping  for  sport.  Other  sea- 
birds  generally  keep  a  considerable  part  of  their  body  out  of  the  water  while 
swimming,  but  this  is  not  the  case  with  the  penguin,  whose  head  alone  appears 
above  the  surface,  and  thus  rowing  at  the  same  time  with  its  wings  and  feet,  it 
swims  so  quickly  that  many  fishes  would  fail  to  keep  up  with  it.  Sir  James 
Ross  once  saw  two  penguins  paddling  away  a  thousand  miles  from  the  nearest 
land.  Protected  against  the  cold  by  a  thick  layer  of  fat  and  a  warm  great-coat 
of  feathers,  it  remains  for  months  on  the  high  seas,  and  seeks  land  only  in  the 
summer  for  the  purpose  of  breeding.  At  this  time  it  is  found  in  vast  numbers 
on  the  Falkland  Islands,  Kerguelen's  Land,  :N"ew  Shetland,  or  wherever  in  the 
Antarctic  Seas,  perhaps  even  to  the  pole  itself,  a  convenient  coast  invites  its 
stay.  On  Possession  Island,  for  instance,  a  desolate  rock,  discovered  by  Sir 
James  Ross  in  lat.  71°  56',  myriads  of  penguins  covered  the  whole  surface  of 
the  land,  along  the  ledges  of  the  precipices,  and  even  to  the  summit  of  the  hills. 
Undaunted  by  the  presence  of  beings  whom  they  had  never  seen  before,  the 
birds  vigorously  attacked  the  British  seamen  as  they  waded  through  their 
ranks,  and  pecked  at  them  with  their  sharp  beaks,  a  reception  which,  together 
with  their  loud  coarse  notes,  and  the  insupportable  stench  of  their  guano,  made 
our  countrymen  but  too  happy  to  depart,  after  having  loaded  their  boat  with 
geological  specimens  and  penguins.  There  are  several  species  of  this  singular 
bird.     The  largest  and  rarest  {Aptenodytes  Forsterl)  is  generally  found  sin- 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


-^'"^^ 


^~"'-f-v^ 


K  ali;atki)ss. 


THE  ANTARCTIC  OCEAN.  397 

gly,  while  the  smaller  species  always  associate  iu  vast  numbers.  Several  were 
caught  in  lat.  11°  by  Sir  James  Ross  and  brought  on  board  alive;  indeed  it 
was  a  very  difficult  and  a  cruel  operation  to  kill  them,  until  hydrocyanic  acid 
was  resorted  to,  of  which  a  tablespoonful  effectually  accomplished  the  purpose 
in  less  than  a  minnte.  These  enormous  birds  varied  in  weight  from  sixty  to 
seventy-five  pounds.  They  are  remarkably  stupid,  and  allow  a  man  to  ap- 
proach them  so  near  as  to  strike  them  on  the  head  with  a  bludgeon,  and  some- 
times, if  knocked  off  the  ice  into  the  water,  they  will  almost  immediately  leap 
upon  it  again  as  if  eager  for  a  fight,  though  without  the  smallest  means  either 
of  offense  or  defense.  They  were  first  discovered  durmg  Captain  Cook's  voyage 
to  the  Antarctic  regions,  but  Sir  James  Ross  w^as  fortunate  in  bringing  the  first 
perfect  specimens  to  England,  some  of  which  were  preserved  entire  in  casks  of 
strong  pickle,  that  the  physiologist  and  comparative  anatomist  might  have  an 
opportunity  of  thoroughly  examining  their  structure.  The  principal  food  of  the 
great  penguin  consists  of  various  species  of  crustaceous  animals,  and  in  its 
stomach  are  frequently  found  from  two  to  ten  pounds'  weight  of  pebbles,  swal- 
lowed no  doubt  to  promote  digestion.  "Its  capture,"  says  Sir  James  Ross, 
"  afforded  great  amusement  to  our  people,  for  when  alarmed  and  endeavoring 
to  escape,  it  makes  its  way  over  deep  snow  faster  than  they  could  follow  it :  by 
lying  down  on  its  belly  and  impelling  itself  by  its  powerful  feet,  it  sUdes  along 
upon  the  surface  of  the  snow  at  a  great  pace,  steadying  itself  by  extending  its 
fin-like  wings,  which  alternately  touch  the  ground  on  the  side  opposite  to  the 
propelling  leg." 

Though  the  Antarctic  Seas  possess  neither  the  narwhal  nor  the  morse,  they 
abound,  perhaps  even  more  than  the  Arctic  waters,  in  whales,  dolphins,  and 
seals,  at  least  in  the  higher  latitudes. 

The  austral  smooth-backed  whale  {Balcena  australis)  differs  from  his  Green- 
land relative  in  many  respects :  the  head  is  comparatively  smaller,  being  only 
about  one-fourth  of  the  total  length,  the  mouth  is  broader,  the  baleen  shorter, 
the  pectoral  fins  are  larger  and  pointed,  and  the  color  is  almost  totally  black, 
the  white  on  the  lower  surface  being  confined  to  a  small  part  of  the  abdomen. 
The  skull  is  also  differently  formed;  and  while  the  Greenland  whale  has  only 
thirteen  pairs  of  ribs,  the  austral  smooth-back  has  fifteen. 

According  to  Mr.  Bennett,  the  austral  smooth-back  seldom  attains  a  greater 
length  than  fifty  feet ;  but  as  it  yields  on  an  average  from  eighty  to  ninety 
barrels  of  oil,  its  capture  amply  rewards  the  whaler's  trouble.  Though  met 
with  in  the  highest  latitudes,  and  roaming  over  the  whole  extent  of  the  Antarc- 
tic Seas,  it  resorts  in  spring  to  the  sheltered  bays  of  New  Zealand,  Australia, 
Kerguelen's  Land,  Chili,  the  Falkland  Islands,  Algoa  Bay,  etc.,  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  forth  its  young.  This  of  course' makes  its  capture  easier,  but  must 
at  the  same  time  lead  to  its  extirpation,  or  drive  it  to  the  most  inaccessible  re- 
gions of  the  Polar  Ocean.  Even  now  the  whale-fishery  of  the  southern  seas, 
Avhich  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago  employed  hundreds  of  vessels,  has  much  di- 
minished in  importance :  it  is  chiefly  carried  on  by  the  Americans,  the  French, 
and  our  Australian  colonies,  which  have  the  advantage  of  being  more  conven- 
iently situated  than  the  mother-country. 


398  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

In  the  higher  latitudes  of  the  Antarctic  zone  the  liunch-back  and  fin-back 
whales  abound  ;  but  as  the  former  is  meagre  and  hardly  worth  the  boiling,  and 
the  latter,  Uke  the  rorquals  of  the  north,  dives  with  such  rapidity  that  he  snaps 
the  harpoon-line  or  drags  the  boat  along  with  him  into  the  water,  they  are  sel- 
dom hunted.  Hence  they  Avill  most  likely  continue  to  prosper  in  their  native 
seas,  unless  the  imj^roved  missiles  recently  introduced  in  the  whale-fishery  can 
be  made  to  conquer  them.  The  hunch-back  is  distinguished  by  the  great 
length  of  his  pectoral  fins,  which  extend  to  full  eighteen  feet,  while  these  organs 
are  comparatively  small  in  the  fin-back.  A  kind  of  broad-nosed  whale  likewise 
makes  its  appearance  in  the  Antarctic  Seas,  but  it  is  not  yet  determined  whether 
all  these  fin-backed  whales  of  the  south  are  distinct  species  from  those  of  the 
Arctic  waters.  A  circumstance  which  seems  to  speak  for  their  identity  is  that 
fin-backs  are  met  with  in  the  intervening  temperate  and  tropical  seas,  so  that 
no  limits  appear  to  have  been  set  to  their  excursions. 

The  sperm  whale,  or  cachalot,  though  partial  to  the  equinoctial  ocean,  is  also 
found  in  the  cold  Antarctic  waters.  It  was  met  with  by  Sir  James  Ross  among 
the  icebergs  in  63°  20'  S.  lat. ;  and  near  Possession  Island  (71°  50'  S.  lat.),  where 
the  hunch-backs  were  so  abundant  that  thirty  were  counted  at  one  time  in  va- ' 
rious  directions,  and  during  the  whole  day  wherever  the  eyes  turned  their  blasts 
were  to  be  seen.  A  few  sperm  whales  were  also  distinguished  among  them  by 
their  peculiar  manner  of  blowing  or  spouting. 

Among  the  dolphins  of  the  Antarctic  Ocean  we  find  a  species  of  grampus 
no  less  formidable  and  voracious  than  that  of  the  northern  seas.  On  January 
20,  1840,  the  American  ship  "Peacock,"  Avhile  cruising  in  the  Antarctic  waters, 
witnessed  a  conflict  between  one  of  them  and  a  whale.  The  sea  was  perfectly 
smooth,  so  that  the  whole  combat  could  be  distinctly  seen.  At  first  the  whale 
was  perceived  at  some  distance  from  the  ship  lashing  the  water  into  foam,  and 
apparently  making  desperate  efforts  to  shake  off  some  invisible  enemy.  On 
approaching,  they  found  that  an  enormous  grampus  had  seized  it  with  its  jaws. 
The  whale  vainly  turned  and  twisted  itself  in  every  direction,  and  its  blood 
tinged  the  water  far  around.  The  grampus  had  evidently  the  advantage,  and 
the  other  whales,  of  which  there  were  many  in  sight,  instead  of  assisting  their 
comrade,  seemed  only  intent  on  their  own  safety.  The  grampus  had  a  brown 
back,  a  white  abdomen,  and  a  large  fin  on  its  back.  The  speed  at  which  the 
monstrous  animals  shot  through  the  water  prevented  the  Americans  from  Avit- 
nessing  the  issue  of  the  fight.  The  classical  dolphin  of  the  ancients  has  been 
seen  near  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  most  likely  wanders  far  to  the  south,  as 
he  is  proverbial  for  his  arrow-like  rapidity,  and  can  easily  traverse  a  couple  of 
hundred  miles  in  a  single  day.  In  the  Strait  of  Magellan  and  about  Cape  Horn 
are  frequently  seen  the  Delj)hinus  siqyerciliosus,  whose  turned-up  mouth-cor- 
ners give  his  countenance  a  peculiarly  benevolent  and  friendly  expression,  belied 
by  his  ravenous  propensities,  and  the  Ddphinus  leuaoramphus,  who,  like  the 
bjeluga  of  the  north,  has  no  dorsal  fin,  and  by  the  liveliness  of  his  movements 
emi;lates  the  classical  dolphin  of  the  Mediterranean. 

The  seal  family  plays  a  no  less  important  part  in  the  zoology  of  the  Antarc- 
tic Seas  than  in  that  of  the  northern  waters.     Here  we  find  the  monstrous  sea- 


THE  ANTARCTIC  OCEAN.  399 

elephant  {Ifacrorhimis  elephanfAmis),  so  called  not  only  from  his  size  attaining 
a  length  of  twenty-five  feet,  and  a  girth  at  the  largest  part  of  the  body  of  from 
fifteen  to  eighteen,  but  also  from  the  singular  structure  of  his  elongated  nostrils, 
which  hang  down  when  he  is  in  a  state  of  repose,  but  swell  out  to  a  proboscis  a 
foot  long  when  he  is  enraged.  This  gives  the  animal  a  very  formidable  appear- 
ance, which,  along  with  his  bellowing  and  his  widely-gaping  jaws  armed  with 
tusk-like  canines,  might  strike  terror  into  the  boldest  heart.  But  in  reality  the 
sea-elephant  is  a  most  defenseless  creature,  for  on  land  it  moves  its  unwieldy 
carcass  with  the  utmost  difficulty,  and  a  single  blow  upon  the  snout  with  a  club 
suffices  to  stretch  it  lifeless  on  the  ground.  It  used  to  be  met  with  in  consid- 
erable numbers  on  all  the  flat  shores  or  islands  between  35°  and  62°  S.  lat.,  but 
as  it  yields  a  large  quantity  of  excellent  oil,  and  as  its  skin,  though  merely  cov- 
ered with  thick  short  bristles,  is  of  some  value  from  its  great  strength  and 
thickness,  incessant  persecution  has  greatly  thinned  its  ranks,  and  in  some  parts 
extirpated  it.  Thus  Sir  James  Ross  relates  that  the  sea-elephant  and  several 
other  species  of  seals,  which  were  formerly  in  great  abundance  at  Kerguelen's 
Land,  annually  drew  a  number  of  fishing-vessels  to  its  shores.  But  at  the  time 
of  his  visit  (1840),  after  so  many  years  of  slaughter,  they  had  quite  deserted 
the  place.  The  flesh  of  the  sea-elephant  is  black,  and  of  an  oily  taste,  but  Anson 
and  his  companions,  after  having  been  tossed  about  for  several  months  on  a 
tempestuous  sea  and  reduced  to  great  distress  by  scurvy,  relished  it  at  Juan 
Fernandez.     The  tongue  is  said  to  be  a  great  delicacy. 

As  the  soft  jet-black  fur  of  the  young  southern  sea-bear  {Arctocephalus  falc- 
landicus)  is  no  less  valuable  than  that  of  its  northern  relative,  the  eagerness 
with  which  it  is  pursued  may  easily  be  imagined.  Formerly  vast  herds  of  sea- 
bears  used  to  resort  every  summer  to  the  New  Shetland  Islands,  but  soon  after 
the  rediscovery  of  the  group  the  American  and  English  sealers  made  their  ap- 
pearance on  its  desolate  shores,  and  in  the  short  time  of  four  years  extirpated 
the  ursine  seals,  thus  destroying  by  wasteful  destruction  what  might  have  been 
a  permanent  source  of  profit. 

The  southern  sea-lion  ( Otaria  jubata)  is  a  larger  animal  than  his  northern 
namesake ;  and  while  the  latter  is  furnished  only  with  an  erect  and  curly  hair- 
tuft  at  the  neck,  a  complete  mane  flows  round  his  breast.  The  remainder  of 
the  tawny  body  is  covered  with  short  smooth  hairs  or  bristles.  The  sea-lioness, 
who  is  much  smaller  than  her  mate,  has  no  mane ;  and  as  she  is  of  a  darker 
color  and  has  a  differently  shaped  head,  is  frequently  mistaken  for  another 
species,  and  called  wolf,  or  lobo,  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  south-western  coast 
of  America.  The  fore  flippers  of  the  sea-lion  have  the  appearance  of  large 
pieces  of  black  tough  leather,  showing,  instead  of  nails,  slight  horny  elevations  ; 
the  hind  fins,  which  are  likewise  black,  have  a  closer  resemblance  to  feet,  and  the 
five  toes  are  furnished  with  small  nails.  It  is  a  formidable-looking  beast,  par- 
ticularly when  full  grown  to  a  length  of  ten  feet  and  more.  The  sea-leopard 
{Lejytomjx  Weddelli),  which  owes  its  name  to  its  spotted  skin,  is  peculiar  to  the 
southern  seas.  This  large  seal  is  from  eight  to  nine  feet  long;  the  hind  feet 
have  no  nails,  and  greatly  resemble  the  tail  of  a  fish. 

The  Antarctic  seals,  dolphins,  and  petrels  chiefly  prey  upon  a  genus  of  fish 


400  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

discovered  at  Kerguelen's  Land,  and  named  Nototlienia  by  Dr.  Richardson, 
These  fisli,  which  are  of  an  elongated  eel-like  shape,  conceal  themselves  from 
the  persecutions  of  their  enemies  in  the  small  cracks  and  cavities  of  the  pack- 
ice,  and  were  frequently  noticed  by  Sir  James  Ross  when  driven  from  shelter 
by  the  ship  as  it  struck  and  passed  over  their  protecting  pieces  of  ice.  They 
in  their  turn  hve  upon  the  smaller  caucri  and  limacinaj,  and  these  again  upon 
creatures  of  a  still  more  diminutive  size,  until  finally  the  chain  of  created 
beings  terminates  in  the  diatoms,*  which  are  found  filling  these  seas  with  the 
minutest  forms  of  organic  life. 

*  "  The  Sea  and  its  Living  Wouders,'"  p.  403, 


ANTARCTIC  VOYAGES  OF  DISCOVERY.  401 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

ANTARCTIC  VOYAGES  OF  DISC0\T:RY. 

Cook's  Discoveries  in  the  Antarctic  Ocean, — Bellinghausen. — Weddell. — Biscoe.— Balleny. — Dumont 
d'Urville. — Wilkes.— Sir  James  Ross  crosses  the  Antarctic  Circle  on  New  Year's  Day,  1841.— Dis- 
covers Victoria  Land. — Dangerous  Landing  on  Franklin  Island. — An  Eruption  of  Mount  Erebus.— 
The  Great  Ice  Barrier. — Providential  Escape. — Dreadful  Gale.— Collision. — Hazardous  Passage  be- 
tween two  Icebergs. — Termination  of  the  Voyage. 

BEFORE  Cook,  no  navigator  had  left  Europe  with  the  clear  design  of  pen- 
etrating into  the  Antarctic  regions.  Dirk  Gheritz  indeed  had  been  driv- 
en by  a  furious  storm  far  to  the  south  of  Cape  Horn,  and  became  the  involun- 
tary discoverer  of  the  New  Shetland  Islands  in  1600  ;  but  his  voyage  was  soon 
forgotten,  and  in  an  age  Avhen  the  love  of  gold  or  the  desire  of  conquest  were 
the  sole  promoters  of  maritime  enterprise,  no  mariner  felt  inclined  to  follow  on 
his  track,  and  to  plunge  into  a  sea  where  most  probably  he  would  find  nothing 
but  ice-fields  and  icebergs  to  reward  his  efforts.  Nearly  two  centuries  later  a 
more  scientific  age  directed  its  attention  to  the  unknown  regions  of  the  distant 
south,  and  Cook  sailed  forth  to  probe  the  secrets  of  the  Antarctic  Seas.  This 
dangerous  task  he  executed  with  an  intrepidity  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of 
navigation.  Beyond  60°  of  southern  latitude,  he  cruised  over  a  space  of  more 
than  100°  of  longitude,  and  on  January  30,  1774,  peneti'ated  as  far  as  71°  of 
southern  latitude,  where  he  was  stopped  by  impenetrable  masses  of  ice.  Such 
•were  the  difliculties  encountered  from  dense  fogs,  snow-storms,  intense  cold, 
and  every  thing  that  can  render  navigation  dangerous,  that  in  his  opinion  the 
lands  situated  to  the  southward  of  his  discoveries  must  forever  remain  un- 
known. 

Again  for  many  a  year  no  one  attempted  to  enter  a  field  where  the  most 
celebrated  of  modern  mariners  had  found  but  a  few  desert  islands  (South 
Georgia,  Sandwich's  Laud,  Southern  Thule)  until  Smith's  casual  rediscovery  of 
'New  South  Shetland  in  1819  once  more  turned  the  current  of  maritime  ex- 
ploration to  the  Antarctic  Seas. 

Soon  afterwards  a  Russian  expedition  under  Lazareff  and  Bellinghausen 
discovered  (January,  1821),  in  69°  3'  S.  lat.,  the  islands  Paul  the  First  and 
Alexander,  the  most  southern  lands  that  had  ever  been  visited  by  man. 

The  year  after  Captain  Weddell,  a  sealer,  penetrated  into  the  icy  ocean  as 
far  as  74°  15'  S.  lat.,  3°  nearer  to  the  pole  than  had  been  attained  by  Cook. 
The  sea  lay  invitingly  open,  but  as  the  season  was  far  advanced,  and  Weddell 
apprehended  the  dangers  of  the  return  voyage,  he  steered  again  to  the  north. 

In  1831  Biscoe  discovered  Enderby  Land,  and  soon  afterwards  Graham's 
Land,  to  which  the  gratitude  of  geographers  has  since  given  the  discoverer's 
name.     In  1839  Balleny  revealed  the  existence  of  the  group  of  islands  called 

26 


402  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

after  him,  and  of  Sabrina  Land  (69°  S.  lat,).  About  the  same  time  three  con- 
siderable expeditious,  fitted  out  by  the  governments  of  France,  the  United 
States,  and  England,  made  their  appearance  in  the  Antarctic  Seas. 

Duraont  d'Urville  discovered  Terre  Louis  Philippe  (60°  31'  S.  lat.)  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1838,  and  Terre  Adelie  (G6°  67'  S.  lat.)  on  January  21,  1840.  Almost 
on  the  same  day,  WilkeS,  the  commander  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Ex- 
])cdition,  reached  an  ice-bound  coast,  which  he  followed  for  a  length  of  1500 
miles,  and  which  has  been  called  Wilkes's  Land,  to  commemorate  the  discover- 
er's name. 

But  of  all  the  explorers  of  the  southern  frozen  ocean,  the  palm  unquestiona- 
bly belongs  to  Sir  James  Rosff  M-ho  penetrated  farther  towards  the  pole  than 
any  other  navigator  before  or  after,  and  made  the  only  discoveries  of  extensive 
land  within  the  area  bounded  by  the  Antarctic  Circle. 

On  New  Year's  Day,  1841,  the  "Erebus,"  Captain  James  Clark  Ross,  and 
the  "  Terror,"  commanded  by  Francis  Crozier,  who  died  with  Franklin  in  the 
Arctic  Sea,  crossed  the  Antarctic  Circle,  and  after  sustaining  many  severe 
shocks  in  breaking  through  the  pack-ice,  emerged  on  January  9  into  a  clear  sea 
of  great  extent;  but  the  fog  and  snow-showers  were  so  thick  that  the  naviga- 
tors could_  seldom  see  more  than  half  a  mile  before  them.  On  the  following 
day  the  fog  began  to  disperse,  and  on  the  11th,  Victoria  Land,  rising  in  lofty 
peaks  entirely  covered  with  perennial  snow,  was  seen  at  a  distance  of  more 
than  one  hundred  miles.  On  steering  towards  Mount  Sabine,  the  highest 
mountain  of  the  range,  new  chains  of  hills  were  seen  extending  to  the  right 
and  left.  After  sailing  for  a  few  days  to  the  south  along  the  ice-bound  coast, 
a  gale  forced  the  ships  to  stand  out  to  sea  ;  but  on  the  morning  of  January  15, 
the  weather  becoming  beautifully  clear,  allowed  a  full  view  of  a  magnificent' 
chain  of  mountains  stretching  far  away  to  the  southward.  Ross  was  most 
anxious  to  find  a  harbor  in  which  to  secure  the  ships,  but  every  indentation  of 
the  coast  was  found  filled  with  snow  drifted  from  the  mountains,  and  forming 
a  mass  of  ice  several  hundred  feet  thick.  It  was,  thus  impossible  to  enter  any 
of  the  valleys  or  breaks  in  the  coast  where  harbors  in  other  lands  usually  oc- 
cur. .  Yet  these  inhospitable  shores  (72°  73'  S.  lat.)  ai'e  situated  but  one  or  two 
degrees  nearer  to  the  polj  than  Hammerfest,  the  seat  of  an  active  commerce 
on  the  Norwegian  coast. 

Favored  by  noi'therly  winds  and  an  open  sea,  the  ships  reached  on  January 
22  a  higher  southern  latitude  (74°  20'  S.)  than  that  Avhich  had  been  attained 
by  Weddell.  Pursuing  their  way  to  the  southward  .along  the  edge  of  the 
pack-ice,  which  now  compelled  them  to  keep  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  coast,  they  came  on  the  27th  within  two  or  three  miles  of  a  small  island 
connected  by  a  vast  ice-field  with  the  extreme  point  of  the  mainland.  Eager 
to  set  his  foot  on  the  most  southerly  soil  (76°  8'  S.)  he  had  as  yet  discovered, 
Ross  left  the  "Erebus,"  accompanied  by  sevei'al  oflficers,  and,  followed  by  Cro- 
zier and  a  party  from  the  "  Terror,"  pulled  towards  the  shore.  A  high  south- 
erly swell  broke  so  heavily  against  the  cliffs  and  on  the  only  piece  of  beach 
which  they  could  see  as  they  rowed  from  one  end  of  the  island  to  the  other,  as 
almost  to  forbid  their  landincr. 


ANTARCTIC  VOYAGES  OF  DISCO^nERY.  403 

By  great  skill  and  mnnagement  Ross  succeeded  in  jumping  on  to  the  rocks. 
By  means  of  a  roj^e  some  of  the  oflicers  landed  somewhat  more  easily,  but  not 
without  getting  thoroughly  wetted,  and  one  of  them  nearly  lost  his  life  in  this 
difficult  affair.  The  thermometer  being  at  22°,  every  part  of  the  rocks  washed 
by  the  Avaves  was  covered  with  a  coating  of  ice,  so  that  in  jumping  from  the. 
boat  he  slipped  from  them  into  the  water  between  her  stern  and  the  almost 
perpendicular  rock  on  which  his  companions  had  landed.  But  for  the  prompt- 
itude of  the  men  in  the  boat  in  instantly  pulling  off,  he  must  have  been  crushed 
between  it  and  the  rock.  He  was  taken  into  the  boat  without  having  suffered 
any  other  injury  than  being  benumbed  by  the  cold. 

The  island,  which  received  the  name  of  Franklin,  bore  not  the  smallest  trace 
of  vegetation,  not  even  a  lichen  or  piece  of  sea-weed  growing  on  the  rocks ;  but 
the  white  petrel  and  the  skua-gull  had  their  nests  on  the  ledges  of  the  cliffs,  and 
seals  were  seen  sporting  in  the  water. 

The  following  day  was  memorable  for  the  discovery  of  the  southernmost 
known  land  of  the  globe,  a  magnificent  mountain  chain,  to  which  the  name  of 
Parry  was  given,  in  grateful  remembrance  of  the  honor  which  that  illustrious 
navigator  had  conferred  on  Ross,  by  calling  the  most  northern  land  at  that 
time  known  by  his  name.  It  is  not  often  that  men  are  able  to.  reciprocate  such 
compliments  as  these !  The  most  conspicuous  object  of  the  chain  was  Mount 
Erebus  (77°  5'  S.),  an  active  volcano,  of  which  Ross  had  the  good-fortune  to 
witness  a  magnificent  eruption.  The  enormous  columns  of  flame  and  smoke 
rising  two  thousand  feet  above  the  mouth  of  the  crater,  which  is  elevated 
12,400  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  combined  with  the  snow-white  mountain 
chain  and  the  deep-blue  ocean  to  form  a  magnificent  scene.  An  extinct  volcano 
to  the  eastward  of  Mount  Erebus,  and  a  little  inferior  in  height,  being  by  meas- 
urement 10,900  feet  high,  was  called  "Mount  Terror."  A  brilliant  mantle  of 
snow  swept  down  the  sides  of  both  these  giants  of  the  south,  and  projected  a 
perpendicular  icy  cliff  several  miles  into  the  sea. 

Gladly  would  Ross  have  penetrated  still  farther  to  the  south,  but  all  his 
efforts  were  baffled  by  a  vast  barrier  of  ice,  forming  an  uninterrupted  wall, 
450  miles  in  length,  and  rising  in  some  parts  to  a  height  of  180  feet  above  the 
sea-level.  While  sailing  along  this  barrier,  the  ships  were  frequently  oblio-ed 
by  the  wind  and  the  closely-packed  ice  to  keep  At  a  considerable  distance ;  but 
on  February  9,  having  entered  the  only  indentation  which  they  had  perceived 
throughout  its  whole  extent,  they  had  an  excellent  opportunity  of  getting  quite 
close  to  it,  though  at  no  little  hazard.  This  bay  was  formed  by  a  projecting 
peninsula  of  ice,  terminated  by  a  cape  170  feet  high  ;  but  at  the  narrow  isthmus 
which  connected  it  w^ith  the  great  barrier  it  was  not  more  than  fifty  feet  high, 
affording  Ross  the  only  opportunity  he  had  of  seeing  its  upper  surface  from 
the  mast-head.  It  appeared  to  be  quite  smooth,  and  conveyed  to  the  mind  the 
idea  of  an  immense  plain  of  frosted  silver.  Gigantic  icicles  depended  from 
every  projecting  point  of  its  perpendicular  cliffs,  proving  that  it  sometimes 
thawed,  which  otherwise  could  not  have  been  believed;  for  at  a  season  of  the 
year  equivalent  to  August  in  England,  the  thermometer  at  noon  did  not  rise 
above  14°,  and  the  young  ice  formed  so  quickly  in  the  sheltered  bay  as  to  Avarn 


404  THE   POLi\Jl  WORLD. 

them  of  the  necessity  of  a  speedy  retreat.  Favored  by  tlie  breeze,  and  by  dint 
of  great  exertion,  they  ultimately  emerged  from  their  dangerous  position,  but 
scarcely  had  they  escaped  when  the  wind  came  directly  against  them,  so  that 
had  they  lingered  but  half  an  hour  longer  near  the  barrier  they  would  certainly 
have  been  frozen  up. 

On.  February  13  the  approach  of  winter  convinced  Ross  that  it  was  high 
time  to  relinquish  the  further  examination  of  tlip  barrier  to  the  eastward ;  and 
as  no  place  of  security  where  it  was  possible  to  Avinter  could  be  found  upon 
any  part  of  the  land  hitherto  discovered,  he  reluctantly  resolved  to  recross  the 
Antarctic  Circle,  and  postpone  all  attempts  to  reach  the  pole  to  the  next  season. 
The  return  voyage  was  difficult  and  dangerous.  On  March  7,  the  ships,  while 
endeavoi'ing  to  find  a  way  through  the  pack-ice  in  lat.  65°,  had  a  narrow  escape 
from  imminent  destruction.  The  wind  having  ceased,  they  found  themselves 
at  the  mercy  of  a  heavy  easterly  swell,  which  was  driving  them  down  upon  the 
pack,  in  which  were  counted  from  the  mast-head  eighty-four  large  bergs,  and 
some  hundreds  of  smaller  size.  As  they  rapidly  approached  this  formidable 
chain,  no  opening  could  be  discovered  through  Avhich  the  ships  could  pass  ;  the 
waves  were  beating  violently  against  the  bergs,  and  dashing  huge  masses  of 
pack-ice  against  their  precipitous  faces,  now  lifting  them  nearly  to  their  summit, 
then  forcing  them  again  far  beneath  their  water-line,  and  sometimes  rending 
them  in  a  multitude  of  brilliant  fragments  against  their  projecting  points. 
''  Sublime  and  magnificent,"  says  Ross,  "  as  such  a  scene  must  have  appeared 
under  different  circumstances,  to  us  it  was  awful,  if  not  appalling.  For  eight 
hours  we  had  been, gradually  drifting  towards  what  to  human  eyes  appeared 
inevitable  destruction ;  the  high  waves  and  deep  rolling  of  our  ships  rendered 
towing  with  the  boats  impossible,  and  our  situation  the  more  painful  and  em- 
barrassing from  our  inability  to  make  any  effort  to  avoid  the  dreadful  calami- 
ty that  seemed  to  await  us We  were  now  wuthin  half  a  mile  of  the 

range  of  bergs.  The  roar  of  the  surf,  Avhich  extended  each  way  as  far  as  we 
could  see,  and  the  crashing  of  the  ice,  fell  upon  the  ear  with'fearful  distinctness, 
whilst  the  frequently  averted  eye  as  immediately  returned  to  contemplate  the 
awful  destruction  that  threatened  in  one  short  hour  to  close  the  world,  and  all 
its  hopes,  and  joys,  and  sorrows  upon  us  forever.  In  this  our  deep  distress 
'  we  called  upon  the  Lord,  and  He  heard  our  voices  out  of  His  temple,  and  our 
cry  came  before  Him.'  A  gentle  air  of  wind  filled  our  sails;  hope  again  re- 
vived, and  the  greatest  activity  prevailed  to  make  the  best  use  of  the  feeble 
breeze ;  as  it  gradually  freshened,  our  heavy  ships  began  to  feel  its  influence, 
slowly  at  first,  but  more  rapidly  afterwards,  and  before  dark  we  found  ourselves 
far  removed  from  every  danger." 

After  passing  the  Avinter  at  Hobarton,  the  capital  of  Tasmania,  Sir  James 
Ross,  in  the  f olloAving  year,  once  more  crossed  the  Antarctic  Circle  to  examine 
the  icy  barrier  which  in  his  previous  voyage  had  blocked  his  progress  to  the 
south,  and  to  renew  his  attempts  to  pass  round  or  through  it.  But  there  were 
new  dangers  to  be  encountered.  On  January  17, 1842,  a  fearful  storm  came  on 
as  the  "  Erebus  "  and  "  Terror  "  Avere  making  their  way  through  the  pack-ice, 
which  was  this  time  met  Avith  in  a  more  northern  latitude  than  the  year  before. 


ANTARCTIC  VOYAGES  OF  DISCOVERY.  405 

The  sea  broke  all  the  hawsers  which  held  them  to  a  large  piece  of  floe,  and 
drove  them  helplessly  along  into  the  heavy  pack.  They  Avere  now  involved  in 
an  ocean  of  rolling  fragments  of  ice,  which  were  dashed  against  them  by  the 
waves  with  so  much  violence  that  their  masts  quivered  as  if  they  w^ould  fall  at 
every  successive  blow.  The  loud  crashing  noise  of  the  straining  and  working 
of  the  timbers  and  decks,  as  they  were  driven  against  some  of  the  heavier 
pieces,  might  well  appall  the  stoutest  heart,  and  thus  hour  passed  away  after 
hour.  During  this  terrible  scene  the  ships  were  at  one  time  so  close  together 
that  when  the  "  Terror  "  rose  to  the  top  of  one  wave,  the  "  Erebus  "  was  on  the 
top  of  the  w^ave  next  to  leeward  of  her,  the  deep  chasm  between  them  being  fill- 
ed with  heavy  rolling  masses ;  and  as  the  ships  descended  into  the  hollow  be- 
tween the  waves,  the  maintopsail-yard  of. each  could  be  seen,  just  level  with  the 
crest  of  the  intervening  wave,  from  the  deck  of  the  other.  The  night,  which 
now  began  to  draw  in,  rendered  their  condition,  if  possible,  more  hopeless  and 
helpless  than  before  ;  but  at  midnight  the  snow,  which  had  been  falling  thickly 
for  several  hours,  cleared  away,  as  the  wind  suddenly  shifted  to  the  westward ; 
the  swell  began  to  subside,  and  the  shocks  which  the  ships  still  sustained,  though 
strong  enough  to  shatter  any  vessel  less  strongly  ribbed,  were  feeble  compared 
with  those  to  which  they  had  been  exposed.  On  the  following  day,  the  wind 
having  moderated  to  a  fresh  breeze,  the  crippled  ships,  whose  rudders  had  been 
sorely  shattered,  were  securely  moored  to  a  large  floe-piece  in  the  now  almost 
motionless  pack,  where,  by  dint  of  unceasing  labor,  the  damages  were  repaired 
in  the  course  of  a  week,  and  the  vessels  once  more  fitted  to  fight  their  way  to 
the  south. 

On  February  22  the  great  barrier  w^as  seen  from  the  mast-head,  just  before 
midnight,  and  the  following  day,  the  wind  blowing  directly  on  to  its  cliffs,  they 
approached  it  within  a  mile  and  a  half,  in  lat.  78°  11',  the  highest  ever  attained 
in  the  southern  hemisphere.  From  this  point,  situated  about  5°  of  longitude 
farther  to  the  east  than  the  indentation  where  the  ships  had  so  narrowly  escaped 
being  frozen  fast  in  the  preceding  year,  the  barrier  trended  considerably  to  the 
northward  of  east,  so  that  Ross  was  obliged  to  give  up  all  hope  of  rounding  it, 
and  extending  his  explorations  towards  the  pole,  as  the  season  was  already  con- 
siderably advanced.  On  his  return  voyage  to  the  Falklands,  where  he  intended 
to  pass  the  Avinter,  he  had  already  reached  the  latitude  of  60°,  and  thought  him- 
self out  of  danger  of  meeting  with  bergs,  when,  in  the  afternoon  of  March  12, 
the  southerly  wind  changed  to  a  strong  north-westerly  breeze.  In  the  evening 
the  wind  increased  so  much,  and  the  snow-showers  became  so  incessant,  that  he 
was  obUged  to  proceed  under  more  moderate  sail.  Small  pieces  of  ice  were 
also  met  with,  warning  him  of  the  presence  of  bergs,  concealed  by  the  thickly- 
falling  snow,  so  that  before  midnight  he  directed  the  topsails  of  the  "  Erebus  " 
to  be  close-reefed,  and  every  arrangement  made  for  rounding  to  until  daylight, 
deeming  it  too  hazardous  to  run  any  longer,  "  Our  people,"  says  the  gallant 
explorer,  "  had  hardly  completed  these  operations,  when  a  large  berg  was  seen 
ahead  and  quite  close ;  the  ship  was  immediately  hauled  to  the  wind  on  the 
port  tack,  with  the  expectation  of  being  able  to  weather  it ;  but  just  at  this  mo- 
ment the  '  Terror '  was  observed  running  down  upon  us,  under  her  topsail  and 


406  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

foresail;  and  as  it  was  impossible  for  her  to  clear  both  the  berg  and  the  '  Ere- 
bus,' collision  was  inevitable.  We  instantly  hove  all  aback  to  diminish  the  vi- 
olence of  the  shock;  but  the  concussion  when  she  struck  us  was  such  as  to 
throw  almost  every  one  off  his  feet ;  our  bowsprit,  foretopraast,  and  other  small- 
er spars,  were  carried  away,  and  the  ships  hanging  together  entangled  by  their 
rigging,  and  dashing  against  each  other  with  fearful  violence,  were  falling  down 
upon  the  weather  face  of  the  lofty  berg  under  our  lee,  against  which  the  waves 
were  breaking  and  foaming  to  near  the  summit  of  its  perpendicular  cliffs. 
Sometimes  the  '  Terror '  rose  high  above  us,  almost  exposing  her  keel  to  view, 
and  again  descended,  as  we  in  our  turn  rose  to  the  top  of  the  wave,  threatening 
to  bury  her  beneath  us,  whilst  the  crashing  of  the  breaking  upper-works  and 
boats  increased  the  horror  of  the  scene.  Providentially  tire  ships  gradually 
separated  before  we  drifted  down  amongst  the  foaming  breakers,  and  we 
had  the  gratification  of  seeing  the  '  Terror'  clear  the  end  of  the  berg,  and  of 
feeling  that  she  was  safe.  But  she  left  us  completely  disabled ;  the  wreck  of 
the  spars  so  encumbered  the  lower  yard  that  we  were  unable  to  make  sail  so 
as  to  get  headway  on  the  ship ;  nor  had  Ave  room  to  wear  round,  being  by  this 
time  so  close  to  the  berg  that  the  waves,  when  they  struck  against  it,  threw 
back  their  spray  into  the  ship.  The  only  way  left  to  us  to  extricate  ourselves 
from  this  awful  and  appalling  situation  was  by  resorting  to  the  hazardous  ex- 
pedient of  a  stern  board,  Avhich  nothing  could  justify  during  such  a  gale  but  to 
avert  the  danger  which  every  moment  threatened  us  of  being  dashed  to  pieces. 
The  heavy  rolling  of  the  vessel,  and  the  probability  of  the  masts  giving  away 
each  time  the  lower  yard-arms  struck  against  the  cliffs,  which  Avere  towering 
high  above  our  mast-heads,  rendered  it  a  service  of  extreme  danger  to  loose 
the  mainsail ;  but  no  sooner  was  the  order  given,  than  the  daring  spirit  of  the 
British  seaman  manifested  itself — the  men  ran  up  the  rigging  with  as  much 
alacrity  as  on  any  ordinary  occasion ;  and,  although  more  than  once  driven  off 
the  yard,  they  after  a  short  time  succeeded  in  loosing  the  sail.  Amidst  the  roar 
of  the  wind  and  sea,  it  was  difficult  both  to  hear  and  to  execute  the  orders  that 
were  given,  so  that  it  was  three-quarters  of  an  hour  before  we  could  get  the 
yards  braced  by;  and  the  main  tack  hauled  on  board  sharp  aback — an  expedient 
that  perhaps  had  never  before  been  resorted  to  by  seamen  in  such  weather; 
but  it  had  the  desired  effect ;  the  ship  gathered  sternway,  plunging  her  stern 
into  the  sea,  and  with  her  lower  yard-arms  scraping  the  rugged  face  of  the 
berg,  we  in  a  few  minutes  reached  its  Avestern  termination ;  the  '  under-tow,'  as 
it  is  called,  or  the  reaction  of  the  water  from  its  vertical  cliffs,  alone  preventing 
us  being  driven  to  atoms  against  it.  No  sooner  had  we  cleared  it  than  another 
was  seen  directly  astern  of  us,  against  which  w^e  Avere  running ;  and  the  diffi- 
culty noAV  was  to  get  the  ship's  head  turned  round  and  pointed  fairly  through 
between  the  tAvo  bergs,  the  breadth  of  the  intervening  space  not  exceeding  three 
times  her  own  breadth.  This,hoAvever,  Ave  happily  accomplished  ;  and  in  a  few 
minutes,  after  getting  before  the  Avind,  she  dashed  through  the  narrow  channel 
between  tAvo  perpendicular  walls  of  ice,  and  the  foaming  breakers  which  stretch- 
ed across  it,  and  the  next  moment  Ave  Avere  in  smooth  Avater  under  its  lee.  The 
'Terror's'  light  AA'as  immediately  seen  and  answered;  she  had  rounded  to,  Avait- 


ANTARCTIC  VOYAGES  OF  DISCOVERY.  407 

ing  for  us  ....  ,  and,  as  soon  as  day  broke,  we  had  the  gratification  of  learn- 
ing that  she  had  not  suffered  any  serious  damage." 

On  December  17  Sir  James  Ross  sailed  from  the  Falkland  Islands,  with  the 
intention  of  following  the  track  of  Weddell,  as,  fi'om  the  account  of  that  daring 
navigator,  he  had  every  reason  to  expect  to  find  a  clear  sea,  which  would  enable 
him  considerably  to  extend  the  limits  of  geographical  knowledge  towards  the 
pole.  He  was  disappointed,  for  though  he  discovered  some  new  land  (63°- 
64°  30'S.  lat.,  55°-57°W.  long.)  to  the  south  of  D'Urville's  Terre  Louis  Phi- 
lippe, yet  the  pack-ice  so  blocked  his  progress  that  the  farthest  point  he  could 
attain  was  in  lat.  71°  30'  S.,  long.  14°  51'  W.  On  March  1  he  recrossed  the  An- 
tarctic Circle,  and  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month  dropped  his  anchors  at  the 
Cape.  Thus  ended  this  most  remarkable  voyage,  so  honorable  to  all  engaged 
in  it,  for,  as  Sir  John  Richardson  justly  remarks,  "  the  perseverance,  daring, 
and  coolness  of  the  commanding  oificer,  of  the  other  officers,  and  of  the  crews 
of  the  '  Erebus '  and  '  Terror,'  was  never  surpassed,  and  have  been  rarely,  if  ever, 
equalled  by  seamen  of  any  nation." 

Since  then  the  "  Pagoda,"  which  had  been  sent  out  by  the  Admiralty  for  the 
purpose  of  observing  magnetic  phenomena  in  a  quarter  of  the  Antarctic  Seas 
that  had  not  been  visited  by  Sir  James  Ross,  attained  the  73d  parallel,  but  no 
more  recent  expedition  has  been  fitted  out  to  prosecute  his  discoveries,  and  no 
man  after  him  has  seen  Mount  Erebus  vomiting  forth  its  torrents  of  flame,  or 
traced  the  stupendous  barrier  which  stopped  his  progress  to  the  pole. 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 

Description  of  the  Strait.— Western  Entrance.— Point  Dungeness.— The  Narrows.— Saint  Philip's  Bay. 
—Cape  Froward.— Grand  Scenery.- Port  Farnine.— The  Sedger  River.— Darwin's  Ascent  of  Mount 
Tarn.— The  Bachelor  River.— English  Reach.— Sea  Reach.— South  Desolation.— Harbor  of  Mercy.— 
Williwaws.— Discovery  of  the  Strait  by  Magellan  (October  20,  1521).— Drake.— Sarmiento.— Cav- 
endish.—Schouten  and  Le  Maire. — Byron.— Bougainville. — Wallis  and  Carteret.— King  and  Fitz- 
ro_v.— Settlement  at  Punta  Arenas.— Increasing  Passage  through  the  Strait.— A  future  Highway  of 
Commerce. 

'T^HE  celebratecl  strait  which  bears  the  name  of  Magellan  is  generally  pic- 
-*-  tured  as  the  scene  of  a  wild  and  dreary  desolation ;  but  though  its 'climate 
is  far  from  being  genial,  and  its  skies  are  often  veiled  with  mists  and  rain,  yet 
nature  can  smile  even  here. 

A  glance  at  the  map  shows  us  the  extreme  irregularity  of  its  formation,  as 
it  is  constantly  changing  in  width  and  direction ;  now  swelling  almost  to  the 
magnitude  of  a  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  then  again  contracting  to  a  narrow 
passage ;  sometimes  taking  a  rapid  turn  to  the  north,  and  at  others  as  sudden- 
ly deviating  to  the  south.  Islands  and  islets  of  every  form — some  mere  naked 
rocks,  others  clothed  with  umbrageous  Avoods — are  scattered  over  its  surface ; 
l)romontories  without  number,  from  the  Patagonian  mainland  or  the  Fuegian 
archipelago,  protrude  their  bold  fronts  into  its  bosom,  as  if  with  the  intention 


THE  STRAIT  OF  ]VL\.GELLAK  409 

of  closing  it  altogether ;  and  countless  bays  and  havens  are  scooped  into  its 
rocky  shores,  as  if  the  sea  in  a  thousand  different  places  had  striven  to  open 
a  new  passage  to  her  waters. 

The  western  entrance  of  tliis  remarkable  strait  is  formed  by  Queen  Cathe- 
rine's Foreland  (Cape  Virgins)  and  Point  Dungeness,  the  latter  having  been 
thus  named  from  its  resemblance  to  the  well-known  Kentish  promontory  at  the 
eastern  mouth  of  the  channel.  Although  it  rises  at  most  nine  feet  above  low- 
water  mark,  the  snow-white  "breakers  which  the  tides  are  constantly  dashing 
over  its  sides  render  it  visible  from  a  great  distance.  It  is  generally  the  resort 
of  a  number  of  sea-lions.  "When  the  wind  comes  blowing  from  the  north-east, 
the  passing  mariner — who,  from  the  shallow  nature  of  the  shore,  is  obliged  to 
keep  at  some  distance  from  the  Ness — hears  their  hoarse  bellowing,  which  har- 
monizes well  with  the  wild  and  desolate  character  of  the  scene.  Albatrosses 
and  petrels  hover  about  them,  while  rows  of  grave-looking  penguins  seem  to 
contemplate  their  doings  with  philosophic  indifference. 

Beyond  these  promontories  the  strait  widens  into  Possession  Bay,  which  at 
Punta  Delgada  and  Cape  Orange  contracts  to  a  narrow  passage.  This  leads 
into  a  wide  basin,  to  which  the  Spaniards  have  given  the  name  of  Saint  Philip's 
Bay,  and  which  again  terminates  in  a  second  narrow  passage  or  channel,  a 
formation  resembling  on  a  small  scale  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  which,  as  we  all 
know,  has  likewise  the  semblance  of  a  lake,  receiving  and  discharging  its  wa- 
ters through  the  Dardanelles  and  the  Strait  of  Constantinople.  During  the 
rising  of  the  flood,  a  strong  current  flows  through  all  these  bays  and  narrows 
from  the  west,  so  as  to  allow  ships  an  easy  passage,  even  against  the  wind ; 
but  during  ebb  tide  the  current  turns  to  the  east,  so  that  at  this  time  a  ves- 
sel, even  when  favored  by  the  wind,  makes  but  littre  progress,  or  is  even 
obliged  to  anchor  to  avoid  losing  ground.  When  Magellan,  after  sailing  round 
Cape  Virgins,  penetrated  into  the  strait,  this  circumstance  at  once  convinced 
that  great  navigator  that  he  was  not  in  an  inclosed  bay,  but  in  an  open  chan- 
nel, which,  would  lead  him  into  another  ocean.  Thus  far  the  country  on  both 
sides  of  the  strait  consists  of  nearly  level  plains,  like  those  of  Patagonia ;  but 
beyond  the  second  Narrows  the  land  begins  to  assume  the  more  bold  and  pic- 
turesque appearance  which  is  characteristic  of  Tierra  del  Fuego.  Mountains 
rise  above  mountains  with  deep  intervening  valleys,  all  covered  by  one  thick, 
dusky  mass  of  forest;  while  farther  to  the  east  scarcely  a  bush  clothes  the 
naked  soil.  The  trees  reach  to  an  elevation  of  between  1000  and  1500  feet, 
and  are  succeeded  by  a  band  of  peat,  with  minute  Alpine  plants,  and  this  again 
is  succeeded  by  the  line  of  perpetual  snow,  which,  according  to  Captain  King, 
descends  to  between  3000  and  4000  feet. 

The  finest  scenery  about  the  Strait  of  Magellan  is  undoubtedly  to  the  east 
of  Cape  Froward,  the  most  southerly  point  of  the  mainland  of  South  America. 
This  promontory,  which  consists  of  a  steep  mass  of  rock  about  800  feet  high, 
abutting  from  a  mountain  chain  of  about  2000  or  3000  feet  in  height,  forms 
the  boundary  between  two  very  different  climates,  for  to  the  east  the  weather 
is  finer  and  more  agreeable  than  to  the  west,  where  wind  and  rain  are  almost 
perjDetual. 


410  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

On  the  Patagonian  plains,  the  drought  and  the  want  of  protection  against 
the  piercing  winds  ahiiost  entirely  impede  vegetation  ;  but  the  country  between 
Cape  Negro— a  little  within  the  second  Narrows— and  Cape  Froward,  or  the 
eastern  shore  of  Brunswick  Peninsula,  is  shielded  by  its  situation  against  the 
almost  perpetual  storms  from  the  west,  and  enjoys,  moreover,  a  sufficiency  of 
rain,  and  now  and  then  serene  weather.  As,  moreover,  the  soil  in  this  central 
part  of  the  strait  consists  of  disintegrated  clay-slate,  which  is  niost  favorable  to 
the  growth  of  trees,  the  forests,  from  all  these  causes,  are  finer  here  than  any- 
where else. 

The  country  about  Port  Famine  is  particularly  distinguished  for  the  lich- 
ness  of  its  vegetation ;  and  both  for  this  reason,  and  from  its  central  situation, 
this  harbor  has  become  a  kind  of  chief  station  for  the  ships  that  pass  through 
the  strait.  Several  unfortunate  attempts  at  colonization  have  been  made  at 
Port  Famine ;  here  many  a  naturalist  has  tarried,  and  thus  no  part  of  the 
strait  has  been  oftener  described  or  more  accurately  observed. 

"The  anchorage,"  says  Dumont  d'Urville,  who,  in  December,  1S37,  spent 
several  days  at  Port  Famine,  "  is  excellent,  and  landing  everywhere  easy.  A 
fine  rivulet  gives  us  excellent  water,  and  the  neighboring  forests  might  furnish 
whole  fleets  with  the  necessary  fuel.  The  cliffs  along  the  shore  are  literally 
covered  with  mussels,  limpets,  and  whelks,  which  afford  a  delicious  variety  of 
fare  to  a  crew  tired  of  salt  beef  and  peas.  Among  the  plants  I  noticed  with 
pleasure  a  species  of  celery,  which,  with  another  herb  resembling  our  corn 
flower  in  form  and  taste,  gives  jDromise  of  an  excellent  salad. 

"  I  made  use  of  my  first  leisure  to  visit  the  romantic  banks  of  the  Sedger 
Uivcr,  which  discharges  its  waters  on  the  western  side  of  the  port.  At  its 
mouth  the  swampy  strand  is  completely  covered  Avath  enormous  trees  heaped 
upon  the  ground.  These  naked  giants,  stripped  of  their  branches,  afford  a  re- 
markable spectacle:  they  might  be  taken  for  huge  bones  bleached  by  time. 
No  doubt  they  are  transported  from  the  neighboring  forest  by  the  waters  of 
the  river,  which,  when  it  overfloAvs  its  banks,  after  a  deluge  of  .,rain,  tears 
along  with  it  the  trees  it  meets  with  in  its  course.  Arrested  by  the  bar  at  the 
mouth  of  the  stream,  they  are  cast  out  upon  its  banks,  where  they  remain 
when  the  waters  sink  to  their  usual  level. 

"  Having  crossed  the  river,  I  entered  the  large  and  fine  forest  with  which  it 
is  bordered.  The  chief  tree  is  the  Antarctic  beech  {Fagus  hetuloides),  which  is 
often  from  sixty  to  ninety  feet  high,  and  about  three  feet  in  diameter.  Along 
with  this  are  two  other  trees,  the  winter's  bark  ( W'mteria  aromatica),  and  a 
species  of  berberis,  with  a  very  solid  wood ;  but  they  are  much  less  abundant, 
and  of  a  much  smaller  size.  With  the  exception  of  mosses,  lichens,  and  other 
plants  of  this  order,  these  forests  afford  but  little  that  is  interesting  to  the 
naturalist — no  quadrupeds,  no  reptiles,  no  land-snails  ;  a  few  insects  and  some 
birds  are  the  only  specimens  to  be  gained  after  a  long  search.  After  collect- 
ing a  good  supply  of  mosses  and  lichens,  I  returned  to  the  boat  for  the  pur- 
pose of  rowing  up  the  river.  Although  the  current  was  tolerably  rapid,  we  ad- 
vanced about  two  miles,  admiring  the  beauty  of  its  i;mbrageous  banks.  On 
my  return  I  shot  two  geese  that  were  crossing  the  river  over  our  heads,  and 


THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN.     •  411 

whose  excellent  meat  amply  supplied  my  table  for  several  days.  This,  together  . 
with  the  little  gobies  which  were  abundantly  caught  with  hand-Hnes,  the  large 
mussels  we  detached  from  the  rocks,  and  the  celery-salad,  gave  me  dinners  fit 
for  an  alderman.  How  often  since  have  I  regretted  the  plenty  of  Port  Fam- 
ine !" 

In  the  month  of  I'ebruary  (1834),  in  the  height  of  the  Antarctic  summer, 
Mr.  Darwin  ascended  Mount  Tarn,  which  is  2600  feet  high,  and  the  most  ele- 
vated point  in  the  vicinity  of  Port  Famine.  "  The  forest,"  says  our  great  nat- 
uralist, "  commences  at  the  line  of  high-water  mark,  and  during  the  first  two 
hours  I  gave  over  all  hopes  of  reaching  the  summit.  So  thick  was  the  wood 
that  it  was  necessary  to  have  constant  recourse  to  the  compass,  for  every  land- 
mark, though  in  a  mountainous  country,  was  completely  shut  out.  In  the  deep 
ravines  the  death-like  scene  of  desolation  exceeded  all  description ;  outside  it 
was  blowing  a  gale,  but  in  these  hollows  not  even  a  breath  of  wind  stirred  the 
leaves  of  the  tallest  trees.  So  gloomy,  cold,  and  wet  was  every  part,  that  not 
even  the  fungi,  mosses,  or  ferns  could  flourish.  In  the  valleys  it  was  scarcely 
possible  to  crawl  along,  they  were  so  completely  barricaded  by  great  moulder- 
ing trunks,  which  had  fallen  down  in  every  direction.  When  passing  over 
these  natural  bridges,  one's  course  was  often  arrested  by  sinking  knee-deep 
into  the  rotten  wood ;  at  other  times,  when  attempting  to  lean  against  a  tree, 
one  was  startled  by  finding  a  mass  of  decayed  matter,  ready  to  fall  at  the 
slightest  touch.  We  at  last  found  ourselves  among  the  stunted  trees,  and  then 
soon  reached  the  bare  ridge,  which  conducted  us  to  the  summit.  Here  was  a 
view  characteristic  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  ;  irregular  chains  of  hills,  mottled  Avith 
patches  of  snow,  deep  yellowish-green  valleys,  and  arms  of  the  sea  intersecting 
the  land  in  many  directions.  The  strong  wind  was  piercingly  cold,  and  the 
atmosphere_  rather  hazy,  so  that  we  did  not  stay  long  on  the  top  of  the  mount- 
ain. Our  descent  was  not  quite  so  laborious  as  onr  ascent;  for  the  weight 
of  the  body  forced  a  passage,  and  all  the  slips  and  falls  were  in  the  right  di- 
rection." 

To  the  west  of  Cape  Froward  the  strait  extends  in  a  north-westerly,  almost 
rectilinear  direction,  until  it  finally  opens  into  the  Pacific,  between  Cape  Pillar 
and  Cape  Victory.  Here  a  day  rarely  passes  without,  rain,  hail,  or  snow. 
Where  the  dreadful  power  of  the  prevaihng  winds  has  free  play,  the  mountain 
sides  are  naked  and  bare,  but  in  every  sheltered  nook  the  damp  climate  produces 
a  luxuriant  vegetation.  The  trees,  however,  do  not  attain  any  great  height,  and 
at  Port  Gallant  the  beech  is  already  decidedly  stunted  in  its  growth.  This  is  no 
doubt  caused  by  the  excessive  humidity  of  the  soil,  Avhich  iij  all  lower  situations 
is  converted  by  the  continual  rains  into  a  deep  morass.  The  trunks  and  the 
branches  are  covered  with  a  thick  layer  of  moss,  and  the  tree  becomes  rotten  in 
its  youth.  But  many  shrubs,  herbs,  and  mosses  thrive  under  the  perpetual  del- 
uge; the  latter  particularly,  covering  large  patches  of  ground  with  a  spongy  car- 
pet. It  may  easily  be  imagined  how  difficult,  or  rather  impossible  it  must  be  to 
penetrate  into  the  interior  of  such  a  country.  Yet  even  these  wild  inhospitable 
regions  can  boast  of  many  a  romantic  scene.  Thus  the  English  Reach,  which 
extends  from  Cape  Froward  to  Carlos  Island,  is  bounded  on  both  sides  by  lofty 


413  THE   POLxlR  WORLD. 

mountains,  their  cones  or  jagged  i)eaks  covered  with  eternal  snow.  Its  south- 
ern bank,  formed  by  Clarence  Island,  is  intersected  with  bays  and  channels,  two 
of  which,  Magdalena  Sound  and  Barbara  Channel,  lead  through  a  maze  of  isl- 
ands into  the  open  sea.  Several  glaciers  descend  in  a  winding  course  from  tlie 
upper  great  expanse  of  snow  to  the  sea-coast,  and  many  a  cascade  comes  dash- 
ing down  from  rock  to  rock.  Skogman*  draws  an  enthusiastic  picture  of  the 
beauty  of  York  Koads  near  the  mouth  of  the  small  Bachelor  River.  To  the 
south,  beliind  Carlos  Island,  mountains  rise  above  mountahis,  and  snow-fields 
above  snow-fields;  to  the  north  lies  the  jagged  colossus,  wliicli  from  its  solitary 
grandeur  has  been  called  Bachelor  Peak,  and  at  Avhose  foot  the  ci'ystal  river  now 
hides  itself  beneath  a  shady  wood,  and  now  rolls  its  crystal  waters  through  a 
green  lawn,  decorated  with  clumps  of  fuchsias.  But'  in  spite  of  its  romantic 
beauty,  the  want  of  life  gives  a  melancholy  character  to  this  solitary  vale.  Be- 
yond Carlos  Island  in  Long  Reach,  the  banks  of  the  strait  become  yet  more  bare 
and  desolate.  Vegetation  descends  lower  and  lower  into  the  valleys,  and  even 
here  the  trees  are  misshapen  and  dwarfish.  But  the  mountain  scenery  has  still 
all  the  majesty  which  snow-fields  and  glaciers  of  a  beryl-like  blue  impart  to  an 
Alpine  landscape.  As  Sea  Reach  shows  itself,  vegetation  is  almost  totally  ex- 
tinct, and  on  approaching  the  mouth  of  the  strait,  the  mountains  become  low^-, 
their  forms  are  less  picturesque,  and  instead  of  the  stern  grandeur  Avhich  marks 
the  middle  part  of  the  strait,  low,  rounded,  barren  hills  make  their  appearance, 
which  completely  justify  the  name  of  South  Desolation,  which  Sir  James  Xar- 
borough  gave  to  this  coast,  "because  it  was  so  desolate  a  land  to  behold." 

It  may  easily  be  imagined  that  the  prevailing  winds  beyond  Cape  Froward 
are  extremely  troublesome  to  ships  sailing  to  the  western  mouth  of  the  strait, 
and  that  if  not  entirely  beaten  back,  they  can  frequently  only  force  the  passage 
after  many  efforts.  Fortunately,  the  deeply  indented  coasts  posse^  a  number 
of  small  havens  which  may  serve  the  mariner  as  stations  during  his  gradual  ad- 
vance. Thus,  close  to  the  mouth  of  the  strait,  where,  between  Cape  Victory 
and  Cape  Pillar,  the  sea  during  and  after  storms  is  so  boisterous  that  even 
steamers  require  their  utmost  strength  not  to  be  dashed  against  the  rocks,  a  se- 
cure port,  appropriately  called  "  Harbor  of  Mercy,"  allows  the  vessels  to  watch 
for  more  tranquil  weather,  and  to  seize  the  first  favorable  opportunity  for 
emerging  into  the  open  sea.  But  even  these  harbors  and  bays  are  subject  to 
peculiar  dangers  from  sudden  gusts  of  wind  that  come  sweeping  down  from  the 
mountains,  and  are  known  among  the  seal-catchers  who  frequent  tliese  danger- 
ous waters  under  the  name  of  willkcaios,  or  hurricane  squalls.  For  when  the 
wild  south-west  storms  come  rushing  against  the  mountain-masses  of  Tierra 
del  Fuego,  the  compressed  air  precipitates  itself  with  redoubled  violence  over 
the  rock-Avalls,  and  then  suddenly  expanding,  flows  down  the  valleys  or  gullies,- 
tearing  up  trees  by  the  roots,  and  hurling  rocks  into  the  abyss.  Where  such  a 
gust  of  wind  touches  the  surface  of  the  Avater,  the  sea  surges  in  mighty  waves, 
and  volumes  of  spray  are  whirled  away  to  a  vast  distance.  If  a  ship  comes  un- 
der its  influence,  its  safety  depends  mainly  upon  the  strength  of  its  anchor  ropes. 

Some  situations  are  particularly  subject  to  williwaws,  and  then  the  total  want 

*  Voyage  of  the  Swedish  ship  "  Eugenie." 


THE   STRAIT    OF  IVLVGELLAK  413 

of  vegetation  and  the  evident  marks  of  ruin  along  the  mountain  slopes  warn  the 
mariner  to  avoid  the  neighborhood.  In  Gabriel  Channel  Captain  King  saw  a 
spot  where  the  williwaws,  bursting  over  the  mountains  on  the  south  side,  had 
swept  down  the  declivities,  and  then  rushing  against  the  foot  of  the  opposite 
hills,  had  again  dashed  upward  with  such  fury  as  to  carry  away  with  them  every 
thing  that  could  possibly  be  attached  from  the  bare  rock. 

It  was  a  memorable  day  in  the  annals  of  maritime  discovery  (October  20, 
1521)  when  Magellan  reached  the  eastern  entrance  of  the  strait  that  was  to  lead 
him,  first  of  all  European  navigators,  from  the  broad  basin  of  the  Atlantic  into 
the  still  wider  expanse  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  was  the  day  dedicated  in  the 
Catholic  calendar  to  St.  Ursula  and  her  eleven  thousand  virgins,  and  he  conse- 
quently named  the  promontory  which  first  struck  his  view  "  Cabo  de  las  Vir- 
gines."  The  flood  tide,  streaming  violently  to  the  west,  convinced  him  that  he 
was  at  the  mouth  of  an  open  channel,  but  he  had  scarcely  provisions  for  three 
months — a  short  allowance  for  venturing  into  an  unknown  world,  and  thus  be- 
fore he  attempted  the  passage  he  convoked  a  council  of  all  his  officers.  Some 
were  for  an  immediate  return  to  Europe,  but  the  majority  voted  for  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  voyage,  and  Magellan  declared  that  should  they  even  be  re- 
duced to  eat  the  leather  of  their  shoes  he  Avould  persevere  to  the  last,  and  with 
God's  assistance  execute  the  commands  of  his  imperial  master  Charles  V.  .He 
then  at  once  gave  orders  to  enter  the  strait  full  sail,  and  on  pain  of  death  for- 
bade any  one  to  say  a  word  more  about  a  return  or  the  want  of  provisions. 

Fortunately  the  winds  Avere  in  his  favor,  for  had  the  usual  inclemencies  of 
this  stormy  region  opposed  him,  there  is  no  doubt  that  with  such  crazy  ves- 
sels, and  such  discontented  crews,  all  his  heroism  would  have  failed  to  msure 
success.  It  was  the  spring  of  the  southern  hemisphere,  and  the  strait  showed 
itself  in  one  of  its  rare  aspects  of  calm.  Many  fish  wei-e  caught,  and,  as  Pi- 
gafetti,  the  historian  of  the  voyage,  relates,  the  aromatic  wintei''s  bark  which 
served  them  for  fuel  "  wonderfully  refreshed  and  invigorated  their  spirits." 

The  fires  kindled  by  the  savages  on  the  southern  side  during  the  night  in- 
duced Magellan  to  give  that  part  of  the  country  the  name  of  Tierra  del  Fuego, 
or  Fireland;  while  from  their  high  stature  and  bulky  frames,  he  called  the  m- 
habitants  of  the  opposite  mainland  Patagonians  (patagon  being  the  Spanish 
augmentative  of  pata,  foot).  Although  several  days  were  lost  in  exploring 
some  of  the  numeroiis  passages  and  bays  of  the  straits,  its  eastern  mouth  was 
reached  on  November  28,  and  Magellan  saw  the  wide  Pacific  expand  before 
him. 

In  1525  Charles  V.  sent  out  a  new  expedition  of  six  vessels,  under  Garcia 
de  Loaisa,  to  circumnavigate  the  globe.  The  vice-admiral  of  the  squadron  was 
Sebastian  el  Cano,  who,  after  the  death  of  Magellan,  had  brought  the  illustri- 
ous navigator's  ship  safely  back  to  Europe,  and  as  a  reward  had  been  ennobled 
with  the  globe  in  his  coat  of  arms,  and  the  motto,  "  Primus  circumdedisti  me." 
Loaisa  entered  the  strait  on  January  26, 1526,  but  he  was  beaten  back  by 
storms  as  far  as  the  River  Santa  Cruz.  On  April  8  he  once  more  attempted  the 
passage,  and  emerged  into  the  Pacific  on  May  25.  Simon  de  Alcazaba,  who  in 
1534  attempted  to  pass  the  Magellans  with  a  number  of  emigrants  for  Peru, 


414  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

was  less  successful,  but  in  1539,  Alfonso  cle  Camargo,  having  lost  two  vessels 
in  the  strait,  passed  it  with  the  third,  and  reached  the  port  of  Callao. 

Until  now  the  Spanish  flag  had  alone  been  seen  in  these  remote  and  solitar}- 
waters,  but  the  time  was  come  when  they  were  to  open  a  passage  to  its  most 
inveterate  foes.  On  August  20,  1579,  Francis  Drake,  commissioned  by  Queen 
Elizabeth,  to  jjlunder  and  destroy  the  Spanish  settlements  on  the  west  coast  of 
^Vmcrica,  ran  into  the  strait,  and  on  December  6  sallied  forth  into  the  Pacific, 

To  meet  this  formidable  enemy,  the  Viceroy  of  Peru  sent  out  in  the  same 
year  two  ships  under  Pedro  Sarmiento  de  Gamboa.  His  orders  were  to  inter- 
cejit  Drake's  passage  through  the  strait  and  then  to  sail  on  to  Spain,  Thouo-h 
he  failed  in  the  object  of  his  mission,  yet  Sarmiento  displayed  in  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  intricate  and  dangerous  passages  along  the  south-west  coast  of 
America,  the  courage  and  skill  of  a  consummate  seaman,  and  he  gave  the  first 
exact  and  detailed  account  of  the  land  and  waters  of  Fuegia,  His  voyage,  ac- 
cording to  the  weighty  testimony  of  Captain  King,  deserves  to  be  noted  as  one 
of  the  most  useful  of  the  age  in  which  it  was  pei'formed. 

On  his  arrival  in  Spain,  Sarmiento  strongly  pointed  out  the  necessity  of  es- 
tablishing a  colony  and  erecting  a  fort  in  the  strait  (at  that  time  the  only  known 
passage  to  the  Pacific),  so  as  effectually  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  a  future 
hostile  expedition  like  that  of  Drake.  Commissioned  by  Philip  II,  to  carry 
his  plans  into  execution,  he  founded  a  colony,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 
Ciudad  de  San  Felipe,  but  a  series  of  disasters  entirely  destroyed  it ;  and  when, 
a  few  years  later,  Cavendish,  who  had  fitted  out  three  ships  at  his  own  expense 
to  imitate  the  example  of  Drake,  appeared  in  the  strait,  he  found  but  three  sur- 
\'ivor§  of  many  hundreds,  and  gave  the  scene  of  their  misery  the  appropriate 
name  of  Port  Famine,  Avhich  it  has  retained  to  the  present  day. 

After  Cavendish  and  Hawkins  (1594),  the  Dutch  navigators  De  Cordes 
(1599),  Oliver  Van  Noort  (1599),  and  Spilberg  (1615),  attempted,  with  more  or 
less  success,  to  sail  through  the  strait  with  the  intention  of  harassing  and  i>lun- 
dering  the  Spaniards  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific. 

Strange  to  say,  no  attempt  had  been  made  since  Magellan  to  discover  a  pas- 
sage farther  to  the  south,  so  universal  and  firmly  established  was  the  belief  that 
Fuegia  extended  without  interruption  to  the  regions  of  eternal  ice,  until  at 
length,  in  1016,  the  Dutchmen  Schouten  and  Le  Maire  discovered  the  passage 
round  Cape  Horn.  Two  years  later  Garcia  de  Nodales  sailed  through  the 
Strait  of  Le  Maire,  and,  returning  through  the  Magellans  into  the  Atlantic,  was 
thus  the  first  circumnavigator  of  Fuegia.  In  1669,  Sir  John  Narborough  hav- 
ing been  sent  out  by  King  Charles  II.  to  explore  the  Magellanic  regions,  fur- 
nished a  good  general  chart  of  the  strait,  and  many  plans  of  the  anchorage 
within  it. 

More  than  sixty  years  now  elapsed  before  any  expedition  of  historical  renown 
made  its  appearance  in  the  strait.  The  dangers  and  hardships  which  had  as- 
sailed the  previous  navigators  discouraged  their  successors,  who  all  preferred 
the  circuitous  way  round  Cape  Horn  to  the  shorter  but,  as  it  was  at  that  time 
considered,  more  perilous  route  through  the  strait.  After  this  long  pause,  By- 
ron (December,  1764)  and  Bougainville  (February,  1765)  once  more  attempted 


THE   STRAIT   OF  MAGELLAN.  415 

the  Magellans.  The  difficulties  encountered  by  them  were  surpassed  by  those 
of  Wallis  and  Carteret.  The  former  spent  nearly  four  months  (from  Decem- 
ber 17,  1766,  to  April  11,  1767)  in  a  perpetual  conflict  with  stormy  weather 
while  slowly  creeping  through  the  strait ;  and  the  latter  required  eighty-four 
days  for  his  passage  from  Port  Famine  to  Cape  Pillar.  No  wonder  that  the 
next  circumnavigators,  Liitke,  Krusenstern,  Kotzebue,  preferred  sailing  round 
Cape  Horn,  and  that  adventurous  seal-hunters  became  for  a  long  time  the 
sole  visitors  of  these  ill-famed  waters.  At  length  the  British  Government  came 
to  a  resolution  worthy  of  England,  and  resolved  to  have  the  Magellanic  regions 
carefully  surveyed,  and  to  conquer  them,  as  it  were,  anew  for  geographical 
science.  Under  the  command  of  Captain  King,  the  "  Adventure  "  and  the 
"Beagle"  were  engaged  in  this  arduous  task  from  1826  to  1830;  btit  such 
were  the  dangers  they  had  to  encounter,  that  Captain  Stokes,  the  second  in 
command,  after  contending  for  four  months  with  the  storms  and  currents  which 
frequently  threatened  to  dash  his  vessel  against  the  chffs,  became  so  shattered 
in  mind  and  body,  that  after  his  return  to  Port  Famine  he  committed  suicide  in 
a  fit  of  melancholy. 

From  1831  to  1834  Captain  Fitzroy  was  engaged  in  completing  the  survey 
of  Patagonia  and  Tierra  del  Fuego,  and  the  result  of  all  these  labors  was  a  col- 
lection of  charts  and  plans  Avhich  have  rendered  navigation  in  those  parts  as 
safe  as  can  be  expected  in  the  most  tempestuous  region  of  the  globe. 

While  formerly  the  passage  round  Cape  Horn  was  universally  preferred,  the 
more  accurate  knowledge  of  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  for  Mdiich  navigation  is  in- 
debted to  the  labors  of  King  and  Fitzroy,  has  since  then  turned  the  scale  in 
favor  of  the  latter. 

*  For  a  trading-vessel,  with  only  the  ordinary  number  of  hands  on  board,  the 
passage  through  the  strait  from  east  to  west  is  indeed  very  difficult,  and  even 
dangerous  ;  but  in  the  opposite  direction,  the  almost  constant  westerly  winds 
render  it  commodious  and  easy  particularly  during  the  summer  months,  in 
which  they  are  most  prevalent. 

For  small  vessels— clippers,  schooners,  cutters — the  passage  in  both  directions 
is,  according  to  the  excellent  authority  of  Captain  King,  much  to  be  preferred. 
Such  vessels  have  far  more  reason  for  fearing  the  heavy  seas  about  Cape  Horn ; 
they  can  more  easily  cross  against  the  Avest  Avinds,  as  their  manoeuvres  are  gen- 
erally very  skillful,  and  they  find  in  the  Soimd  itself  a  great  number  of  anchor- 
ing-places,  which  are  inaccessible  to  larger  vessels. 

For  steamers  the  advantage  is  entirely  on  the  side  of  the  Strait,  and  they 
consequently  now  invariably  prefer  this  route.  Here  they  find  plenty  of  wood, 
which  enables  them  to  save  their  coals  ;  and  moreover,  from  Cape  Tamar  as  far 
as  the  Gulf  of  Penas,  an  easy  navigation  for  about  360  sea  miles  through  the 
channels  along  the  west  coast  of  America. 

As  the  trade  of  the  Pacific  is  continually  increasing,  and  the  Strait  of  Magel- 
lan more  frequented  from  year  to  year,  we  can  not  wonder  that  the  old  project 
of  settling  a  colony  on  its  shores  should  have  been  revived  in  our  days.  About 
the  year  1840  the  Government  of  Chili  established  a  penal  colony  at  Punta  Are- 
nas and  Port  Famine,  which  miserably  failed  in  consequence  of  a  mutiny  ;  but 


41G 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


in  1853  about  oue  hundred  and  fifty  German  emigrauts  were  settled  at  Punta 
Arenas,  and  when  the  "  Novara  "  visited  the  strait  in  1858,  they  were  found  in  a 
thriving  condition.  Should  the  project  of  stationing  steam-tugs  in  the  strait 
and  of  erecting  lighthouses  at  Cape  Virgins  and  at  the  entrance  of  Smyth  Chan- 
nel be  executed,  the  Magellans  Av^ould  become  one  of  the  high-roads  of  com- 
merce, and  the  dangers  which  proved  so  dreadful  to  the  navigators  of  former 
days  a  mere  tale  of  the  past. 


A  UIGUWAY    Uf    CUililEliCli. 


PATAGONIA  AND   THE  PATAGONIANS. 


417 


•ATAGONIANS. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

PATAGONIA  AND  THE  PATAGONIANS. 

Difference  of  Climate  l^etween  East  and  West  Patagonia.— Extraordinary  Aridity  of  East  Patagonia.— 
Zoology.— The  Guauaco.— The  Tiicutuco.— Tlie  Patagonian  Agouti.— Vultures.— The  Turkey-buz- 
zard.— The  Carrancha.— The  Chimango.— Darwin's  Ostrich.— The. Patagonians.— Exaggerated  Ac- 
counts of  their  Stature.— Their  Physiognomy  and  Dress.— Keligious  Ideas.— Superstitions.— Astro- 
nomical Knowledge.— Division  into  Tribes.— The  Tent,  or  Toldo.— Trading  Routes.— The  great 
Cacique. — Introduction  of  the  Horse. — Industry. — Amusements. — Character. 

PATAGONIA,  the  southern  extremity  of  the  American  continent,  is  divided 
by  the  ridge  of  the  Andes  into  two  parts  of  a  totally  different  character. 
Its  western  coast-lands,  washed  by  the  cold  Antarctic  current  and  exposed  to 
the  humid  gales  of  a  restless  ocean,  are  almost  constantly  obscured  with  clouds 
and  drenched  with  rain.  Dense  forests,  dripping  with  moisture,  clothe  the 
steep  hill-sides;  and,  from  the  coldness  of  the  summer,  the  snow-line  is  so  low 
that  for  650  miles  northward  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  almost  every  arm  of  the 
sea  which  penetrates  to  the  interior  higher  chain  is  terminated  by  huge  glaciers 
descending  to  the  w^ater's  edge. 

East  Patagonia,  on  the  contrai  y,  a  vast  j^lain  rising  in  successive  terraces 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  foot  of  the  Cordillera,  is  one  of  the  most  arid  regions 
of  the  globe.  The  extreme  dryness  of  the  prevailing  westerly  winds,  which 
have  i)een  totally  deprived  of  their  humidity  before  crossing  the  Andes,  and 
the  well-rounded  shingles  which  compose  the  soil,  have  entailed  the  curse  of 

27 


418  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

Sterility  on  the  land.  Monotonous  warra  tints  of  brown,  yellow,  or  light  red 
everywhere  fatigue  the  eye,  which  vainly  seeks  for  rest  in  the  dark  blue  sky, 
and  finds  refreshing  green  only  on  some  river-banks. 

Many  broad  flat  vales  transsect  the  plains,  and  in  these  the  vegetation  is 
somewhat  better.  The  streams  of  former  ages  have  no  doubt  hollowed  them 
out,  for  the  rivers  of  the  present  day  are  utterly  inadequate  to  the  task.  On 
account  of  the  dryness  of  the  atmosphere,  the  traveller  may  journey  for  days 
in  these  Patagonian  plains  without  finding  a  drop  of  water.  Springs  are  rare, 
and  even  when  found  are  generally  brackish  and  unrefreshing.  While  the 
"  Beagle  "  was  anchoring  in  the  spacious  harbor  of  Port  St.  Julian,  a  party  one 
day  accompanied  Captain  Fitzroy  on  a  long  walk  round  the  head  of  the  harbor. 
They  were  eleven  hours  without  tasting  any  water,  and  some  of  the  party  were 
quite  exhausted.  From  the  summit  of  a  hill,  to  which  the  appropriate  name 
of  "  Thirsty  Hill "  was  given,  a  fine  lake  was  spied,  and  two  of  the  party  pro- 
ceeded, with  concerted  signals,  to  show  whether  it  was  fresh  water.  The  dis- 
appointment may  be  imagined  when  the  supposed  lake  was  found  to  be  a 
snow-w^hite  expanse  of  salt,  crystallized  in  great  cubes. 

The  extreme  dryness  of  the  air,  which  imparts  so  sterile  a  character  to  the 
country,  favors  the  formation  of  guano  deposits  on  the  naked  islands  along 
the  coast,  which  are  frequented  by  sea-birds.  Protracted  droughts  are  essen- 
tial to  the  accumulation  of  this  manure,  for  repeated  showers  of  rain  would 
wash  it  into  the  sea,  and  for  this  reason  no  guano  deposits  are  found  on  the 
populous  bird-mountains  of  the  north.  A  similar  dryness  of  the  atmosphere 
favors  the  deposit  at  Ichaboe  on  the  African  coast,  at  the  Kooria  Nooria  Is- 
lands in  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  at  the  Chincha  Islands  on  the  Peruvian  coast ; 
and  this  kind  of  climate  appears  also  to  be  particularly  agreeable  to  the  sea- 
birds. 

Considering  the  excessive  aridity  of  Patagonia,  it  seems  surprising  that  the 
country  should  be  traversed  from  west  to  east  by  such  considerable  rivers  as 
the  Rio  Negro,  the  Gallegos,  and  the  Santa  Cruz ;  but  all  these  have  their 
sources  in  the  Andes,  and  are  fed  by  mountain  torrents,  which  no  doubt  derive 
their  waters  from  the  atmospherical  precipitations  of  the  Pacific. 

The  zoology  of  Patagonia  is  as  limited  as  its  flora,  and  greatly  resembles  in 
its  character  that  of  the  mountain  regions  of  Chili,  or  of  the  Puna  or  high  ta- 
ble-land of  the  tropical  Andes  of  Peru  and  Bolivia,  the  height  of  which  varies 
from  10,000  to  14,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

In  all  these  countries,  situated  in  such  different  latitudes,  the  explorer  is  as- 
tonished to  find  not  only  the  same  genera,  but  even  animals  of  the  same  species. 
The  forest-loving  race  of  monkeys  is  nowhere  to  be  found  in  treeless  Patago- 
nia. Xone  of  the  quadrumana  ventures  farther  south  than  29°  lat.,  but  on  the 
borders  of  the  Rio  Negro,  the  northern  boundary  of  Patagonia,  some  small  bats 
are  seen  fluttering  about  in  the  twilight. 

The  dark-ljrown  yellow-headed  Gallctis  vittata,  an  animal  allied  to  the  Civ- 
ets and  Genets,  is  likewise  found  there,  but  much  more  frequently  its  relation  the 
Zorilla,  which  ranges  from  30°  lat.  to  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  and,  like  the  skunk 
of  the  north,  has  the  power  of  discharging  a  fluid  of  an  intolerably  fetid  odor. 


PATAGONIA  AND   THE  PATAGONIANS.  419 

The  guanaco  is  the  characteristic  quadruped  of  the  plains  of  Patagonia, 
where  it  is  no  less  useful  to  man  than  the  wild  reindeer  to  the  savage  hunters 
of  the  north.  It  ranges  from  the  Cordillera  of  Peru  as  far  south  as  the  islands 
near  Cape  Horn,  but  it  appears  to  be  more  frequent  on  the  plains  of  South 
Patagonia  than  anywhere  else.  It  is  of  greater  size  than  the  llama,  and  re- 
sembles it  so  much  that  it  was  supposed  to  be  the  wild  variety,  until  Tschudi, 
in  his  "Fauna  Peruana,"  pointed  out  the  specific  difference  between  both. 
The  guanaco  is  a  more  elegant  animal,  with  a  long,  slender  neck  and  fine  legs  ; 
its  fleece  is  shorter  and  less  fine ;  its  color  is  brown,  the  under  parts  being 
whitish.  It  generally  lives  in  small  herds  of  from  half  a  dozen  to  thirty  in  each  ; 
but  on  the  banks  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Mr.  Darwin  saw  one  herd  which  contained  at 
least  five  hundred,  Though  extremely  shy  and  wary,  it  is  no  match  for  the 
cunning  of  the  savage ;  and,  before  the  horse  was  introduced  into  Patagonia, 
man  most  probably  could  not  have  existed  in  those  arid  plains  without  the 
guanaco.  It  easily  takes  to  the  water,  and  this  accounts  for  its  presence  on  the 
eastern  islands  of  Fuegia,  where  it  has  been  followed  by  the  puma,  or  Ameri- 
can lion,  who  likewise  pursues  it  on  the  plateaus  of  the  Cordillera,  12,000  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

The  Brazilian  fox  ( Canis  Azane)  is  also  met  with  as  far  as  the  strait.  It 
is  somewhat  smaller  than  our  fox,  but  more  robustly  built.  In  Patagonia  it 
preys  chiefly  upon  the  small  rodents,  with  which  the  land,  in  spite  of  its  sterili- 
ty, is  perhaps  more  richly  stocked  than  any  other  country  in  the  world.  Among 
these  the  tucutuco  (Ctenomys  magellanica),  which  may  briefly  be  described  as 
a  gnawer  with  the  habits  of  a  mole,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable.  It  abounds 
near  the  strait,  where  the  sandy  plain  is  one  vast  burrow  of  these  creatures. 
This  curious  animal  makes,  when  beneath  the  ground,  a  very  peculiar  noise,  con- 
sisting of  a  short  nasal  grunt,  monotonously  repeated  about  four  times  in  quick 
succession,  the  name  tucutuco  being  given  in  imitation  of  the  sound.  Where 
the  animal  is  abundant,  it  may  be  heard  at  all  times  of  the  day,  and  sometimes 
directly  beneath  one's  feet.  The  tucutuco  is  nocturnal  in  its  habits  ;  its  food 
consists  chiefly  of  roots,  the  search  after  which  seems  to  be  the  cause  of  its  bur- 
rowing. 

Among  the  indigenous  quadrupeds  of  Patagonia  we  find,  moreover,  a  spe- 
cies of  agouti  {Dasi/pi'octa  jyatagonica),  wljiich  in  some  measure  represents  our 
hare,  but  is  about  twice  the  size,  and  has  only  three  toes  on  its  hind  feet ;  the 
elegant  long-eared  mara  {Dolichotis patagonicus),  which,  unlike  most  burrowing 
animals,  wander^,  commonly  two  or  three  together,  for  miles  from  its  home  ;  the 
Didelphis  Azarce,  a  species  of  opossum ;  and  the  pichy  {Dasgpus  minutus),  a 
small  armadillo,  which  extends  as  far  south  as,50°  lat. 

It 'would  be  vain  to  seek  among  the  Patagonian  birds  for  the  splendid 
plumage  of  the  tropical  feathered  tribes  ;  their  colors  are  simple  and  monoto- 
nous, as  those  of  the  naked  plains  which  are  their  home.  Many  birds  of  prey 
of  the  warmer  regions  of  America  likewise  frequent  the  arid  wastes  of  Pata- 
gonia. When  a  horse  chances  to  perish  from  fatigue  or  thirst,  the  turkey-buz- 
zard ( VultKT  aura  ?)  begins  to  feast  upon  its  carcass,  and  then  the  carrancha 
{Polyhoriis  brasiliensis)  and  the  chimango  {Polyhorus  chimango)  pick  its  bones 


420  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

clean.  Thouirli  tliese  birds,  which  well  suj^ply  the  place  of  our  carrion-crows, 
magpies,  and  ravens,  generally  feed  in  common,  they  are  by  no  means  on  a 
friendly  footing.  When  the  carrancha  is  q.uietly  seated  on  the  branch  of 
a  tree  or  on  the  ground,  the  chimango  often  continues  for  a  long  time  flying 
backward  and  forward,  up  and  down,  in  a  semicircle,  trying  each  time,  at  the 
bottom  of  the  curve,  to  strike  its  larger  relative,  which  takes  little  notice  ex- 
cept by  bobbing  its  head.  The  carrancha,  which  is  common  in  the  dry  and 
open  countries,  and  likewise  on  the  arid  shores  of  the  Pacific,  is  also  found  in- 
habiting the  forests  of  West  Patagonia  and  Tierra  del  Fuego.  The  chimango 
is  much  smaller  than  the  carrancha.  Of  all  the  carrion  feeders,  it  is  generally 
the  last  which  leaves  the  skeleton  of  a  dead  animal,  and  may  frequently  be  seen 
within  the  ribs  of  a  horse,  like  a  prisoner  behind  a  grating.  It  is  frequently 
found  on  the  sea-coast,  where  it  lives  on  small  fishes.    ■ 

The  condor  may  likewise  be  reckoned  among  the  Patagonian  birds,  as  it 
follows  its  prey,  the  guanaco,  across  the  Strait  of  Magellan  as  far  as  the  eastern 
lowlands  of  Tierra  del  Fuego.  In  the  winter  especially,  Avhen  the  cold  forces 
vast  numbers  of  geese  and  ducks  to  quit  the  Antarctic  islands  in  the  higher 
latitudes,  all  these  birds  of  prey,  to  which  the  crowned  falcon  ( Circoites  co- 
ronalus),  the  three-colored  buzzard  {Buteo  tricolor),  the  Aguia  eagle)  Ha- 
lioetus  aguia),  and  several  others  must  be  added,  live  in  luxury.  Most  of  them 
are  likewise  migratory  birds,  and  disappear  in  summer,  with  the  defenseless 
tribes  on  which  they  jirey.  The  Magellanic  thrush  {Tardus  magellanicus) 
leaves  in  winter  the  stormy  banks  of  the  strait,  and  retires  to  the  milder  skies 
of  the  Rio  Negro,  Avhere  it  meets  the  tuneful  Patagonian  warbler  ( OrjyJieus 
patagonicus),  the  nimble  troglodyte  {Troglodytes  p>ttllida),  and  the  inconstant 
fly-catcher  {Muscicape parvulus). 

A  peculiar  species  of  ostrich,  the  nandu  {Hhea  Danvini),  roams  over  the 
plains  of  Southern  Patagonia  as  far  as  the  Strait  of  Magellan.  It  is  smaller  than 
the  South  American  ostrich  {Bhea  americana),  which  inhabits  the  country  of 
La  Plata  as  far  as  a  little  south  of  the  Rio  Negro ;  but  it  is  more"  beautiful, 
as  its  white  feathers  are  tipped  with  black  at  the  extremity,  and  its  black  ones 
in  like  manner  terminate  in  white. 

In  the  same  high  latitude  one  is  surprised  to  meet  with  a  member  of  the 
parrot  tribe  {Pslttacus  patagonicus)  feeding  on  the  seeds  of  the  winter's  bark, 
and  to  see  humming-birds  ( Trochilus  forjicatus)  flitting  about  during  the  snow- 
storms in  the  forests  of  Tien-a  del  Fuego. 

The  plains  of  Patagonia  are  inhabited  by  a  race  of  Indians* supposed  to  be 
gigantic,  but  the  descrii)tions  of  modern  travellers  have  dispelled  the  idea. 
Thus  Pigafetti,  the  companion  of  Magellan,  relates  that  the  Europeans  only 
reach  to  the  waist  of  the  Patagonians ;  Simon  de  Weert  tells  us  that  they  are 
from  ten  to  eleven  feet  high;  Byron,  who  visited  them  in  the  last  century, 
reduces  them  to  seven  feet,  and  Captain  Knig  finally,  who  accurately  measured 
them,  found  the  medium  height  of  the  males  about  five  feet  eleven  inches.  As 
the  Patagonians  have  most  likely  not  degenerated  within  the  last  few  centuries, 
we  may  infer  from  these  various  accounts  that  the  travellers  of  the  present  day 
are  less  prone  to  exaggeration  than  those  of  more  ancient  times.     So  much  is 


PATAGONIA  AND   THE  PATAGONIANS.  421 

certain,  that  the  Patagonians  are  a  fine  athletic  race  of  men,  with  remarkably 
broad  shoulders  and  thick  muscular  Hmbs.  The  head  is  long,,  broad,  and  flat, 
and  the  forehead  low,  with  the  hair  growing  within  an  inch  of  the  eyebrows, 
which  are  bare ;  the  eyes  are  often  placed  obliquely,  and  have  but  little  expres- 
sion ;  the  forehead  and  the  large  lips  are  prominent,  so  that  if  a  perpendicular 
line  were  drawn  between  the  two,  the  thick  flat  nose  would  hardly  reach  it,  and 
but  seldom  project  beyond  it.  In  spite  of  these  coarse  features  the  physiogno- 
my of  the  young  girls  is  by  no  means  unpleasant,  as  it  has  an  amiable,  lively  ex- 
pression. All  of  them  have  small  hands  and  feet,  and  D'Orbigny  says  that 
they  have  the  finest  shapes  of  all  the  savages  he  saw.  Though  they  have  a 
wide  mouth  and  thick  lips,  this  fault  is  redeemed  by  their  beautiful  white  teeth, 
which  never  fall  out  even  in  old  age. 

The  color  of  the  Patagonians  is  much  darker  than  that  of  the  Pampas  In- 
dians and  others  farther  to  the  north,  and  most  closely  resembles  that  of  the 
mulatto ;  a  fact  totally  at  variance  with  the  common  belief  that  the  darkness 
of  the  human  skin  increases  on  approaching  the  equator. 

The  chief  garment  is  the  manuhe,  a  wide,  square  mantle — eight  feet  long  and 
nearly  as  broad — which  they  wear  after  the  fashion  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and 
Romans,  with  one  end  hanging  down  to  the  earth.  It  generally  consists  of 
guanaco  skins  neatly  sewn  together  with  ostrich  sinews.  In  cold  weather  the 
manuhe,  which  serves  also  as  a  blanket,  is  worn  with  the  hair  inside ;  the  even 
surface  is  therefore  ornamented  with  red  drawings.  Sometimes  they  wear 
boots  of  horse-leather,  like  the  Gauchos,  from  whom  they  have  learned  to  make 
them ;  forme-rly  sandals  of  guanaco  skin  were  alone  in  use.  Their  long  black 
hair  is  tied  behind  with  a  thoilg  of  leather  or  a  piece  of  ribbon ;  the  women 
plait  and  adorn  it  Avith  a  number  of  ornaments  of  glass  and  copper.  The  face 
is  generally  painted  red,  white,  and  black,  and  a  Patagonian  is  never  seen  with- 
out the  little  pouch  in  which  he  carries  the  necessary  colors.  A  remarkable 
custom,  common  to  all  the  Indian  tribes  as  far  as  Bolivia,  is  that  of  eradicating 
the  hairs  of  the  beard,  and  the  men  may  frequently  be  seen  plucking  them  out 
with  a  pair  of  pincers. 

The  religious  ideas  of  the  Patagonians  greatly  resemble  those  of  their  neigh- 
bors the  Aucas  and  the  Puelches.  The  divine  Achekenat  Kanet  is  reverenced 
as  the  genius  of  both  good  and  evil ;  but  beside  this  chief  deity  they  have  a 
number  of  inferior  spirits,  generally  of  a  malignant  nature,  which  can  be  held 
in  check  only  by  the  arts  of  their  magicians.  Like  the  shamans,  or  medicine- 
men of  the  north,  these  impostors  work  themselves  into  an  ecstatic  state,  in 
whick  they  predict  things  to  come,  or  announce  the  will  of  the  unseen  gods ; 
but  their  trade  does  not  seem  to  be  very  lucrative  if  we  may  judge  from  the 
bad  condition  of  their  mantles.  They  also  -act  as  physicians,  for  all  diseases 
are  invariably  ascribed  to  the  agency  of  evil  spirits. 

The  Patagonians  are  quite  as  superstitious  as  the  Indians  of  the  high  north- 
ern latitudes.  They  seldom  cut  their  hair,  but  when  they  do,  they  cast  it  into 
the  river  or  carefully  burn  it,  so  that  it  may  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  some  ma- 
lignant magician,  who  might  use  it  to  the  hurt  of  its  quondam  owner.  When, 
on  journeying  along  a  river,  they  see  some  trunks  of  trees  descending  with  the 


422  THE   POLAR   "WORLD. 

current,  they  take  them  for  evil  spirits,  and  address  them  with  a  loud  voice.  If 
by  chance  the  trees  are  swept  by  less  rapidly  or  are  driven  round  in  a  whirl- 
pool, they  believe  that  this  takes  place  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  them.  They 
then  make  them  libecal  promises,  which  they  faithfully  keep.  They  cast  their 
Aveapons,  their  ornaments,  sometimes  even  their  horses  with  bound  feet,  into 
the  water,  fully  persuaded  that  by  this  sacrifice  they  have  averted  the  misfor- 
tunes that  otherwise  would  have  befallen  them.  Like  many  other  savage  na- 
tions, they  believe  in  a  future  paradise,  where  they  expect  to  find  again  all  that 
they  prized  on  earth.  For  this  reason  they  immolate  over  the  graves  of  their 
fj-iends  all  the  animals  that  belonged  to  them,  and  inter  with  them  all  they  pos- 
sessed. 

The  astronomical  knowledge  of  the  Patagonians  is  surprising  in  a  people 
ranking  so  low  in  the  scale  of  civilization.  Continually  migrating  over  their  arid 
land,  they  soon  felt  the  necessity  of  directing  their  movements  during  the  day 
by  the  position  of  the  sun,  during  the  night  by  the  stars  ;  and  thus  they  gradu- 
ally learned  to  observe  the  march  of  the  constellations,  and  to  note  the  times  of 
their  appearance  and  disappearance,  giving  them  names,  so  as  to  be  able  to  com- 
municate their  observations  to  each  other.  Their  lively  fancy  traces  in  the 
starry  firmament  the  picture  of  the  Indian's  hunting  expedition.  The  Milky 
Way  is  the  path  on  which  he  follow^s  the  ostrich ;  the  "  Three  Kings  "  are  the 
bolas,  or  balls,  with  which  he  strikes  the  bird  whose  feet  form  the  Southern 
Cross ;  and  the  Magellanic  clouds  are  heaps  of  its  feathers  that  have  been  col- 
lected by  its  pursuer. 

When  the  Patagonians  speak  of  the  direction  they  intend  to  follow,  from 
north  to  south  or  from  east  to  west,  they  always  indicate  the  constellations  ;  so 
that  in  these  South  American  plains,  as  in  those  of  Chaldea,  a  similar  necessity 
has  led  man  to  lay  the  first  foundations  of  astronomical  knowledge. 

The  Patagonians  are  divided  into  a  number  of  small  migratory  tribes,  each 
consisting  of,  at  the  utmost,  thirty  or  forty  families.  As  they  live  exclusively 
by  the  chase,  it  is  evident  that  a  few  days  would  suffice  to  destroy  or  to  drive 
away  the  game  of  a  great  extent  of  territory  were  they  to  assemble  in  larger 
numbers.  Not  to  perish  of  want,  they  are  thus  compelled  to  wander  from 
l^lace  to  place  in  small  companies,  and  to  carry  along  with  them  their  leathern 
toldos,  or  tents.  The  toldo  reposes  on  a  frame  of  poles  stuck  into  the  earth,  and 
is  scarcely  higher  than  six  feet  in  its  centre,  so  that  one  can  hardly  imagine  how 
a  family  of  tall  Patagonians  can  live  in  so  small  a  space.  The  door  is  invaria- 
bly to  the  east,  so  that  early  in  the  morning  the  chief  of  the  family  may  sprinkle 
before  it  a  few  drops  of  water  as  an  offering  to  the  rising  sun,  for  were  thi^  sac- 
rifice to  be  neglected,  the  evil  spirits  would  infallibly  wreak  their  vengeance 
upon  the  inmates  of  the  tent.  Horse-hides,  or  guanaco  skins  coarsely  sewn  to- 
gether, cover  the  frame,  and  afford  but  a  scanty  protection  against  the  rain  and 
the  much  more  frequent  wind.  At  the  top,  as  in  the  Laplander's  hut,  an  open- 
ing is  left  to  let  out  the  smoke.  The  hearth  is  in  the  middle,  and  close  by  lie 
some  earthen  vases,  and  large  volute  shells  which  serve  as  drinking-horns.  The 
inmates  lie  on  skins,  or  sit  in  a  corner  cross-legged,  after  the  Oriential  fashion. 
The  excessive  filth  of  these  wretched  tenements  makes  their  poverty  appear  still 


PATAGONIA  AND   THE   PATAGONIANS.  423 

more  squalid,  than  it  really  is.  Thirty  or  forty  toldos  form  a  migratory  village, 
or  tolderia.  Though  the  dreadful  small-pox  epidemic  from  1809  to  1812  de- 
stroyed whole  tribes  of  Patagoniaus,  their  present  number  may  still  be  estimated 
at  from  eight  to  ten  thousand  ;  a  small  one,  when  compared  with  the  size  of  the 
country,  yet  large  enough  when  we  consider  the  sterile  nature  of  its  soil  and  the 
vast  space  of  desert  needed  to  feed  a  sufficient  number  of  guanacos  and  horses 
for  the  wants  of  even  a  scanty  population.  Each  tolderia  appears  to  have  its 
territory  limited  by  the  hunting-grounds  of  its  neighbors,  but  commercial  trans- 
actions take  place  between  the  various  tribes,  and  occasion  longer  journeys. 
One  of  the  chief  trading  routes  runs  along  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Andes  from 
the  Strait  of  Magellan  to  the  Rio  Negro,  as  water  is  here  everywhere  found ; 
another,  leading  parallel  with  the  coast  from  the  Rio  Negi'o  to  Port  St.  Julian 
and  Port  Desire,  is  only  frequented  in  the  rainy  season,  and  even  then  there  are 
wide  spaces  without  any  sweet  water,  and  where  it  is  necessary  to  travel  night 
and  day  so  as  to  avoid  the  danger  of  dying  of  thirst. 

Every  year  the  various  Patagonian  tribes  wander  to  the  sources  of  the  Rio 
Negro,  where  they  provide  themselves  with  araucaria  seeds,  which  serve  them 
as  food,  or  with  apples,  which  have  multiplied  on  the  eastern  spurs  of  the  Andes 
in  the  same  astonishing  manner  as  the  peach-trees  near  the  mouths  of  the  La 
Plata.  The  apple-tree  was  introduced  by  the  first  Spaniards  who  inhabited  the 
Chilian  Andes  soon  after  the  conquest ;  and  when  later  the  intruders  were  ex- 
pelled by  the  victorious  Araucanians,  the  natives  found  their  country  enriched 
by  this  valuable  acquisition. 

One  of  the  chief  bartei-ing  rendezvous  is  the  island  Cholechel,  which  is  form- 
ed by  two  arms  of  the  Rio  Negro,  about  eighty  leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  Here  the.  Patagonian  exchanges  his  guanaco  skins  for  the  articles  which 
the  Puelches,  his  northern  neighbors,  either  fabricate  themselves  or  procure  in 
a  more  easy  manner  by  steaUng  them  from  the  white  settlers  in  their  neighbor- 
hood. This  bartering  trade  is  very  ancient,  and  has  always  existed  excepting  in 
times  of  war.  In  this  manner  the  Patagonians  were  provided  with  horses  soon 
after  the  introduction  of  this  valuable  animal  into  the  New  World,  and  thus 
also  articles  of  Spanish  manufacture  soon  found  their  way  as  far  as  the  Strait 
of  Magellan. 

At  present  there  seems  to  be  peace  among  all  the  Patagonian  tribes,  which 
consider  themselves  as  brothers,  though  frequently  separated  several  hundred 
leagues  from  each  other. 

Their  system  of  government  is  very  simple.  The  whole  nation  has  a  chief, 
or  great  cacique,  whom  they  call  carasken,  and  whose  authority  is  very  Umited. 
In  war  he  presides  in  the  assembly  of  the  minor  chiefs,  and  has  the  supreme 
command  in  battle.  In  peace  his  sway  is  confined  to  his  own  tribe.  He  is  as 
poor  as  his  subjects,  and,  far  from  enjoying  a  copious  civil  list,  is  obliged  to 
hunt  for  his  subsistence  like  every  other  Patagonian ;  the  only  advantage  he 
owes  to  his  exalted  station  being  a  somewhat  larger  share  of  the  products  of 
the  chase;  and  this  he  is  obliged  to  distribute  among  the  more  needy  of  his  fol- 
lowers, to  maintain  his  influence.  The  dignity  of  carasken  is  not  always  hered- 
itary.    To  succeed  his  father,  the  son  must  first  prove  by  his  eloquence,  his 


424  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

courage,  and  his  liberality  that  he  is  worthy  to  succeed  him ;  and  if  he  is  found 
wanting,  the  Indian  most  distinguished  by  his  moral  and  intellectual  quali- 
ties is  elected  in  his  place. 

The  Patagonians  are  very  awkward  fishermen;  they  merely  catch  what 
chance  throws  into  their  hands,  and  are  uuacquahited  with  nets  or  any  other 
piscatorial  artifice.  In  this  respect  they  are  totally  different  from  the  P'uegians, 
who  derive  their  chief  subsistence  from  the  sea.  They  have  ever  been  a  nation 
of  hunters,  and  before  the  introduction  of  the  horse,  they  pursued  their  game 
on  foot,  using  their  bolas  Avith  great  dexterity  for  the  destruction  of  the  guanaco 
and  the  ostrich.  Their  dogs  afforded  them  a  valuable  assistance,  and  since  they 
have  become  accomplished  horsemen,  their  fleet  coursers  enable  them  to  over- 
take with  ease  all  the  animals  of  the  wilderness.  In  times  of  scai'city  they 
dig  for  a  small  root,  which  is  either  eaten  fresh  or  preserved  dry.  Horse-flesh 
is  their  favorite  food. 

The  Patagonian  toldos  and  their  weapons  are  very  rudely  made,  but  their 
skin  mantles  are  not  untastefully  ornamented  with  rectilinear  figures.  In  their 
war-dress  they  have  a  very  hideous  appearance,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  im- 
agine a  more  diabolical  figure  than  that  of  a  tall  Patagonian  ready  for  a  fight, 
his  broad  face  painted  scarlet,  with  black  or  blue  stripes  under  the  eyes,  and 
his  coarse  features  distorted  with  fury.  Their  arms  are  bows  and  arrows,  with 
points  of  flint  loosely  attached  with  sinews,  so  as  to  remain  sticking  in  the 
wound.  They  are  excellent  archers,  and  iise  with  skill  the  sling,  the  javelin, 
and  above  all  their  formidable  bolas,  which  serve  them  both  for  bringing  the 
guanaco  to  the  ground  or  for  breaking  the  skull  of  an  enemy.  When  not  en- 
gaged in  war  or  in  the  chase,  the  men,  like  most  savages,  pass  their  time  in  ab- 
solute idleness,  leaving  all  the  household  work  to  the  women.  Amusements 
they  have  but  few.  The  use  of  dice  they  have  learned  from  the  Spaniards. 
They  are  said  to  be  a  false  and^deceitful  people,  but  their  hospitality  and  good- 
nature have  been  frequently  extolled  by  travellers. 


THE   FUEGIANS. 


425 


COAST    OF    FUEGIA. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

THE  FUEGIANS. 

Their  miserable  Condition.— Degradation  of  Body  and  Mind.— Powers  of  ^Mimicry.— Notions  of  Barter. 
Causes  of  their  low  State  of  Cultivation.— Their  Food.— Limpets.— C^towa  Darwini.—Consta.r)t 
Migrations.— The  Fuegian  Wigwam.— Weapons.— Their  probable  Origin.— Their  Number,  and 
various  Tribes.— Constant  Feuds.— Cannibalism.— Language.— Adventures  of  Fuegia  Basket,  Jem- 
my Button,  and  York  Minster.— Missionary  Labors.— Captjin  Gardiner.— His  lamentable  End. 

THE  wilds  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  are  inhabited  by  a  race  of  men  generally  sup- 
posed to  occupy  the  lowest  grade  in  the  scale  of  humanity.  In  a  far  more 
rigorous  climate,  the  Esquimaux,  their  northern  antipodes,  exhibit  skill  in  their 
snow  huts,  their  kayaks,  their  weapons,  and  their  dress  ;  but  the  wretched  Fue- 
gians  are  ignorant  of  every  useful  art  that  could  better  their  condition,  and 
contrive  scarcely  any  defense  against  either  rain  or  wind. 

But  even  among  the  Fuegians  there  are  various  grades  of  civilization— or 
rather  barbarism.  The  eastern  tribes,  which  inhabit  the  extensive  plains  of 
King  Charles's  South  Land,  seem  closely  allied  to  the  Patagonians,  and  are 
a  very  different  race  from  the  undersized  wretches  farther  westward.  A  man- 
tle of  guanaco  skin,  with  the  wool  outside— the  usual  Patagonian  o-arment— 
loosely  thrown  over  their  shoulders,  and  leaving  their  persons  as  often  exposed 
as  covered,  affords  them  some  protection  against  the  piercing  wind.  The  con- 
dition of  the  central  tribes  inhabiting  the  south-western  bays  and  inlets  of  this 
dreary  country  is  much  more  miserable.  Those  farther  to  the  west  possess 
seal-skins,  but  here  the  men  are  satisfied  with  an  otter  skin  or  some  other  cov- 
ering scarcely  larger  than  a  pocket-handkerchief.  It  is  laced  across  the  breast 
by  strings,  and  according  as  the  wind  blows  it  is  shifted  from  side  to  side. 


420  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

But  all  have  not  even  this  wretched  garnlent,  for  near  WoUaston  Island  Mr. 
Darwin  saw  a  canoe  with  six  Fuegians,  one  of  whom  was  a  woman,  naked.  It 
was  raining  heavily,  and  the  fresh  water,  together  with  the  spray,  trickled  down 
their  bodies.  In  another  harbor  not  far  distant,  a  woman,  who  was  suckling 
a  recently-born  child,  came  one  day  alongside  the  vessel,  and  remained  there 
out  of  mei-e  curiosity,  whilst  the  sleet  fell  and  thawed  on  her  naked  bosom 
and  on  the  skin  of  her  naked  baby  !  These  poor  wretches  were  stunted  in 
their  growth,  their  faces  bedaubed  with  Avhite  paint,  their  skins  filthy,  their  hair 
entangled,  their  voices  discordant,  and  their  gestures  violent. 

The  Fuegians  whom  Cook  met  with  in  Christmas  Sound  were  equally 
Avretched.  Their  canoes  were  made  of  the  bark  of  trees  stretched  over  a  frame- 
work of  sticks,  and  the  paddles  which  served  to  propel  these  miserable  boats 
were  small,  and  of  an  equally  miserable  workmanship.  In  each  canoe  sat  from 
five  to  eight  persons ;  but  instead  of  greeting  the  strangers  with  the  joyful 
shouts  of  the  South  Sea  Islanders,  they  rowed  along  in  perfect  silence ;  and 
even  Avhen  quite  close  to  the  vessel,  they  only  uttered  from  time  to  time  the 
word  "  Pescherah  !"  After  repeated  invitations  some  of  these  savages  came 
on  board,  but  without  exhibiting  the  least  sign  of  astonishment  or  curiosity. 
None  were  above  five  feet  four  inches  high ;  they^  had  large  heads,  broad 
faces,  with  prominent  cheek-bones,  flat  noses,  small  and  lack-lustre  eyes ;  and 
their  black  hair,  smeared  with  fat,  hung  in  matted  locks  over  their  shoulders. 
Instead  of  a  beard,  their  chin  exhibited  a  few  straggling  bristles,  and  their 
whole  appearance  afforded  a  striking  picture  of  abject  misery.  Their  shoul- 
ders and  breast  were  broad  and  strongly  built,  but  the  extremities  of  the  body 
so  meagre  and  shrivelled  that  one  could  hardly  realize  the  fact  that  they  be- 
longed to  the  upper  part.  The  legs  were  crooked,  the  knees  disproportionate- 
ly thick.  Their  sole  garment  consisted  of  a  small  piece  of  seal-skin,  attached  to 
the  neck  by  means  of  a  cord,  otherwise  they  were  quite  naked ;  but  even  these 
miserable  creatures  had  made  an  attempt  to  decorate  their  olive-brown  skin 
with  some  stripes  of  ochre.  The  women  were  as  ugly  as  the  men.  Their  food 
consisted  of  raw,  half-putrid  seal's  flesh,  which  made  them  smell  so  horribly, 
that  it  was  impossible  to  remain  long  near  them.  Their  intelligence  was  on  a 
par  with  the  filth  of  their  bodies.  The  most  expressive  signs  were  here  of  no 
avail.  Gestures  which  the  most  dull-headed  native  of  any  South  Sea  island  im- 
mediately understood,  these  savages  either  did  not,  or  would  not  give  them- 
selves the  trouble  to  comprehend.  Of  the  superiority  of  the  Europeans  they 
appeared  to  have  no  idea,  never  expressing  by  the  slightest  sign  any  astonish- 
ment at  the  sight  of  the  ship  and  the  various  objects  on  board.  It  would  how- 
ever be  doing  the  Fuegians  injustice  to  suppose  them  all  on  a  level  with  these 
wretches.  According  to  Forster,  they  were  most  likely  outcasts  from  the 
neighboring  tribes. 

Mr.  Darwin,  as  well  as  Sir  James  Ross,  describes  the  Fuegians  whom  they 
met  with  in  the  Bay  of  Good  Success  and  on  Hermit  Island  as  excellent 
mimics.  "As  often  as  we  coughed  or  yawned,"  says  the  former, "  or  made  any 
odd  motion,  they  immediately  imitated  us.  Some  of  our  party  began  to  squint 
and  look  awry,  but  one  of  the  young  Fuegians  (whose  whole  face  was  painted 


THE  FUEGIANS. 


427 


black,  excepting  a  white  band  across  his  eyes)  succeeded  in  making  far  more 
hideous  grimaces.  They  could  repeat  with  perfect  correctness  each  word  in 
any  sentence  we  addressed  them,  and  they  remembered  such  words  for  some 
time.  Yet  we  all  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  distinguish  apart  the  sounds  in  a 
foreign  language." 

Close  to  the  junction  of  Ponsonby  Sound  with  the  Beagle  Channel,  where 
My.  Darwin  and  his  party  spent  the  night,  a  small  family  of  Fuegians  soon 
joined  the  strangers^ round  a  blazing  fire.  They  seemed  well  pleased,  and  all 
joined  in  the  chorus  of  the  seamen's  songs.  During  the  night  the  news  had 
spread,  and  early  in  the  morning  other  Fuegians  arrived.  Several  of  these  had 
run  so  fast  that  their  noses  were  bleeding,  and  their  mouths  frothed  from  the 
rapidity  with  which  they^talked  ;  and  with  their  naked  bodies  all  bedaubed  with 
black,  white,  and  red,  they  looked  like  so  many  demons. 


FUEGIAN  TRADERS. 


These  people  plainly  showed  that  they  had  a  fair  notion  of  barter.  Mr.  Dar- 
win gave  one  man  a  large  nail  (a  most  valuable  present)  without  making  any 
signs  for  a  return ;  but  he  immediately  picked  out  two  fish,  and  handed  them 
up  on  the  point  of  his  spear.  Here  at  least  we  see  signs  of  a  mental  activity 
favorably  contrasting  with  the  stolid  indifference  of  the  Fuegians  seen  by  For- 
ster  at  Christmas  Harbor ;  and  Mr.  Darwin  is  even  of  opinion  that  in  general 
these  people  rise  above  the  AustraUans  in  mental  power,  although  their  actual 
acquirements  may  be  less. 

The  reason  why  the  Fuegians  are  so  little  advanced  in  the  arts  of  life, 


428  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

are  partly  to  be  souglit  for  in  the  nature  of  tlie  land,  and  partly  in  their  political 
state.  The  perfect  equality  among  the  individuals  in  each  tribe  must  retard 
their  civilization ;  and  until  some  chief  shall  arise  with  power  suiRcient  to  se- 
cure any  acquired  advantage,  such  as  the  domesticated  animals,  it  seems  scarce- 
ly possible  that  their  condition  can  improve.  But  the  chief  causes'  of  their 
wretchedness  are  doubtless  the  barrenness  of  their  country  and  their  constant 
forced  migrations. 

With  the  exception  of  the  eastern  part,  the  habitable  land  is  reduced  to 
the  stones  on  the  beach.  In' search  of  food  they  are  compelled  to  wander  from 
s])Ot  to  spot ;  and  so  steep  is  the  coast  that  they  can  only  move  about  in  their 
canoes.  Whenever  it  is  low  water,  winter  or  summer,  night  or  day,  they  must 
]-ise  to  pick  limpets  from  the  rock;  and  the  women  qjther  dive  to  collect  sea- 
eggs,  or  sit  patiently  in  their  boats,  and  with  a  baited  hair-line,  without  any 
hook,  jerk  out  little  fish.  If  a  seal  is  killed,  or  the  floating  carcass  of  a  putrid 
whalQ  discovered,  it  is  a  feast ;  and  such  miserable  food  is  assisted  by  a  few 
tasteless  berries,  chiefly  of  a  dwarf  arbutus,  or  by  a  globular  bright  yellow  fun- 
gus {Cyttaria  Darwini),\s\v\ch.  grows  in  vast  numbers  on  the  beech -trees. 
When  young,  it  is  elastic,  with  a  smooth  surface ;  but,  when  mature,  it  shrinks, 
becomes  tougher,  and  has  its  entire  surface  deeply  pitted  or  honey-combed. 
In  this  mature  state  it  is  collected  in  large  quantities  by  the  women  and  chil- 
dren, and  is  eaten  uncooked.  It  has  a  mucilaginous,  slightly  sweet  taste,  with 
a  faint  smell  like  that  of  a  mushroom.' 

The  necessity  of  protecting  themselves  against  the  extremity  of  cold,  and  of 
obtaining  their  food  from  the  sea,  or  by  the  chase  of  the  reindeer  or  the  white 
bear,  forces  the  Esquimaux  to  exert  all  their  faculties,  and  thus  they  have 
raised  themselves  considerably  higher  in  the  scale  of  civilization  than  the  Fue- 
gians,  whose  mode  of  life  requires  far  less  exertion  of  the  mind.  To  knock  a 
limpet  from  the  rock  or  to  collect  a  fungus  does  not  even  call  cunning  into  ex- 
ercise. Living  chiefly  upon  shell-fish,  they  are  obliged  constantly  to  change 
their  abode,  and  thus  they  hardly  bestow  gny  thought  on  their  dwellings,  which 
are  more  like  the  dens  of  wild  beasts  than  the  habitations  of  human  beings. 
The  Fuegian  wigwam  consists  of  a  few  branches  stuck  in  the  ground,  and  very 
im])erfectly  thatched  on  one  side  with  a  few  tufts  of  grass  and  rushes.  The 
Avhole  can  not  be  the  work  of  an  hour,  and  it  is  only  used  for  a  few  days.  At 
intervals,  however,  the  inhabitants  of  these  wretched  huts  return  to  the  same 
spot,  as  is  evident  from  the  piles  of  old  shells,  often  amounting  to  several  tons 
in  weight.  These  heaps  can  be  distinguished  at  a  distance  by  the  bright  green 
color  of  certain  plants,  such  as  the  wild  celery  and  scurvy  grass,  which  invari- 
ably grow  on  them. 

The  only  articles  in  the  manufacture  of  which  the  Fuegians  show  some 
signs  of  ability  are  a  few  ornaments  and  their  weapons,  which  again  are  far 
inferior  to  those  of  the  Esquimaux.  Their  bows  are  small  and  badly  shaped, 
their  arrows,  which  are  between  two  and  three  feet  long,  feathered  at  one  end 
and  blunted  at  tlie  other.  The  points  are  only  attached  Avhen  the  arrow  is 
about  to  be  used,  and  for  this  purpose  the  archer  carries  them  about  with  him 
in  a  leathern  pouch.     The  shaft  of  their  larger  spears  is  about  ten  feet  long, 


THE    FUEGLiNS. 


429 


and  equally  thick  at  both  ends.  At  one  of  the  extremities  is  a  fissure,  into  which 
a  pointed  bone  with  a  barbed  hook  is  inserted  and  tightly  bound  with  a  thread. 
With  this  weapon  they  most  probably  attack  the  seals ;  they  also  use  it  to  de- 
tach the  shell-fish  from  the  rocks  below  the  surface  of  the  water.  A  second 
spear,  longer  and  lighter  than  the  first,  with  a  barbed  point,  serves  most  likely 
as  a  weapon  of  war ;  and  a  third  one,  much  shorter  and  comparatively  thin, 
may  perhaps  be    destined  for  the  birds.      The  females  know  how  to  make 


A  FUEGIAN   AND   niS   FOOD. 


pretty  necklaces  of  colored  shells  and  baskets  of  grass  stalks.  Here,  as  with 
all  other  races  of  mankind,  Ave  find  the  germs  of  improvement,  which  only 
require  for  their  development  the  external  impulse  of  more  favorable  circum- 
stances. 

If  it  be  asked  whether  they  feel  themselves  as  miserable  as  their  wretched 
appearance  would  lead  us  to  believe  them,  it  must  be  replied. that  most  travel- 
lers describe  them  as  a  cheerful,  good-humored,  contented  people ;  and  as  Mr. 
Darwin  finely  remarks,  "  Nature,  by  making  habit  omnipotent  and  its  effects 


430  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

hereditary,  lias  fitted  the  Fuegian  to  the  cHinate  and  the  productions  of  his 
country," 

The  number  of  these  savages  is  no  doubt  very  small,  as  seldom  more  than 
thirty  or  forty  individuals  are  seen  together.  The  interior  of  the  mountainous 
islands,  Avhich  is  as  little  known  as  the  interior  of  Spitzbergen,  is  no  doubt  com- 
pletely uninhabited ;  as  the  coasts  alone,  with  the  exception  of  the  eastern  and, 
more  level  part  of  the  country,  where  the  guanaco  finds  pasture,  are  able  to 
furnish  the  means  of  subsistence.  The  various  tribes,  separated  from  each 
other  by  a  deserted  neutral  territory,  ai'e  nevertheless  engaged  in  constant 
feuds,  as  quarrels  are  perpetually  arising  about  the  possession  of  some  limpet- 
bank  or  fishing-station.  When  at  war  they  are  cannibals ;  and  it  is  equally  cer- 
tain that  when  pressed  in  winter  by  hunger  they  kill  and  devour  their  old  wom- 
en before  they  kill  their  dogs,  alleging  as  an  excuse  that  their  dogs  catch  otters, 
and  old  women  do  not. 

It  has  not  been  ascertained  whether  they  have  any  distinct  belief  in  a  future 
life.  They  sometimes  bury  their  dead  in  caves,  and  sometimes  in  the  mountain 
forests.  Each  family  or  tribe  has  a  Avizard,  or  coiijuring  doctor.  Tiieir  lan- 
guage, of  which  there  are  several  distinct  dialects,  is  likewise  little  known ;  it 
is,  however,  far  inferior  to  the  copious  and  expressive  vocabulary  of  the  Esqui- 
maux. 

In  1830,  while  Captain  Fitzroy  was  surveying  the  coasts  of  Fuegia,  he  seized 
on  a  party  of  natives  as  hostages  for  the  loss  of  a  boat  which  had  been  stolen, 
and  some  of  these  natives,  as  well  as  a  child  belonging  to  another  tribe,  whom 
he  bought  for  a  pearl  button,  he  took  with  him  to  England,  determining  to 
educate  them  at  his  own  expense.  One  of  them  afterwards  died  of  the  small- 
pox ;  but  a  young  girl,  Fuegia  Basket,  and  two  boys.  Jemmy  Button  (thus 
named  from  his  purchase-money)  and  York  Minster  (so  called  from  the  great 
rugged  mountain  of  York  Minster,  near  Christmas  Sound),  were  placed  in  a 
school  at  Walthamstow,  and  moreover  had  the  honor  of  being  presented  to 
King  William  and  Queen  Adelaide.  Three  years  Jemmy  and  his  companions 
remained  in  England,  at  the  end  of  which  time  Captain  Fitzroy  was  again  sent 
out  to  continue  the  survey,  and  took  with  him  these  three  Fuegians,  intending 
to  return  them  to  the  place  whence  they  had  come.  In  this,  however,  he  was 
disappointed ;  but  at  their  own  request  York  and  Fuegia  were,  with  Jemmy, 
deposited  at  Woollya,  a  pleasant  looking  spot  in  Ponsonby  Sound,  belonging 
to  Jemmy's  tribe.  His  family,  consisting  of  his  mother  and  three  brothers, 
was  absent  at  the  time,  but  they  arrived  the  following  morning.  Jemmy  rec- 
ognized the  stentorian  voice  of  one  of  his  brothers  at  a  prodigious  distance,  but 
the  meeting,  as  Mr.  Darwin,  who  witnessed  the  scene,  relates,  was  less  interest- 
ing than  that  between  a  horse  turned  out  into  a  field  and  an  old  companion. 
There  was  no  demonstration  of  affection ;  they  simply  stared  for  a  short  time 
at  each  other.  Three  large  wigwams  were  built  for  them,  gardens  planted,  and 
an  abundant  supply  of  every  thing  lauded  for  their  use.  Jemmy,  who  had  be- 
come quite  a  favorite  on  board,  was  short  and  fat,  but  vain  of  his  personal  ap- 
pearance ;  he  used  always  to  wear  gloves,  his  hair  was  neatly  cut,  and  he  was 
distressed  if  his  well-polished  shoes  Avere  dirtied.     York  was  somewhat  coarse 


THE   FUEGIANS.  431 

and  less  intelligent,  though  in  some  things  he  could  be  quick.  He  became  at- 
taphed  to  Fuegia,  and  as  both  were  of  the  same  tribe,  they  became  man  and 
wife  after  their  return  to  Tierra  del  Fuego.  She  was  the  most  intelligent  of 
the  three,  and  quick  in  learning  any  thing,  especially  languages. 

Thus  these  semi-civilized  savages  were  left  among  their  barbarous  comitry- 
men,  with  the  hope  that  they  might  become  the  means  of  improving  their  whole 
tribe;  but  when  Captain  Fitzroy  returned  to  the  spot  twelve  months  after, 
he  found  the  wigwams  deserted  and  th^  gardens  trampled  under  foot.  Jemmy 
came  paddling  up  in  his  canoe,  but  the  dandy  who  had  been  left  plump,  clean, 
and  well-dressed,  was  now  turned  into  a  thin,  haggard  savage,  with  long,  disor- 
dered hair,  and  naked,  except  a  bit  of  a  blanket  round  his  waist.  He  could  still 
speak  English,  and  said  that  he  had  enough  to  eat,  that  he  was  not  cold,  and 
that  his  relations  were  very  good  people.  He  had  a  wife  besides,  who  was  de- 
cidedly the  best-looking  female  in  the  company.  With  his  usual  good  feeling, 
he  brought  two  beautiful  otter  skins  for  two  of  his  best  friends,  and  some  spear- 
heads and  arrows  made  with  his  own  hands  for  the  captain.  He  had  lost  all 
his  property.  York  Minster  had  built  a  large  canoe,  and  with  his  wife  Fuegia 
had,  several  months  since,  gone  to  his  own  country,  and  had  taken  farewell  by 
an  act  of  consummate  villainy.  He  persuaded  Jemmy  and  his  mother  to  come 
with  him,  and  then  on  the  way  deserted  them  by  night,  stealing  every  article 
of  their  property.  It  was  the  opinion  of  all  on  board  that  the  cunning  rogue  had 
planned  all  this  long  before,  and  that  with  this  end  in  view  he  had  desired  so 
earnestly  to  remain  with  Jemmy's  tribe  rather  than  be  landed  on  his  own  coun- 
try. Eight  years  after  an  English  vessel  put  into  a  bay  in  the  Magellans  for 
water,  and  there  was  found  a  woman,  without  doubt  Fuegia  Basket,  who  said, 
"  How  do  ?  I  have  been  to  Plymouth  and  London."  York  Minster  was  also 
seen  in  1851.  From  Captain  Snow,  commander  of  the  mission  yacht  "Allen 
Gardiner,"  we  have  the  last  accounts  of  Jemray  Button  in  1855.  Twenty-three 
years  had  not  obliterated  his  knowledge  of  the  English  language,  but  he  was  as 
wild  and  shaggy  as  his  untaught  countrymen.  In  spite  of  his  superior  knoAvl- 
edge,  he  was  treated  as  a  very  inferior  personage  by  the  members  of  his  tribe ; 
yet  he  declared  that  though  he  loved  England,  he  loved  his  country  still  better; 
that  nothing  should  induce  him  to  leave  it,  and  that  he  would  never  allow  any 
of  his  children  to  quit  their  native  soil. 

Other  efforts  have  been  made  to  civilize  the  Fuegians.  A  Spanish  vessel 
having  been  shipwrecked  on  the  eastern  coast  in  1767,  its  crew  was  hospitably 
treated  by  the  natives,  who  even  assisted  in  saving  the  cargo.  Out  of  gratitude, 
the  Governor  of  Buenos  Ayres  sent  out  some  missionaries,  who,  however,  totally 
failed  to  make  any  impression  on  the  savages. 

A  no  Idss  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  about  the  year  1835  by  English  mis- 
sionaries ;  and  the  expedition  of  Captain  Gardiner,  who,  accompanied  by  a  sur- 
geon, a  catechist,  and  four  Cornish  fishermen,  sailed  to  Fuegia  in  1851,  with  the 
intention  of  converting  the  natives,  proved  equally  fruitless,  and  had  a  far  more 
tragic  end.  His  measures  for  securing  the  necessary  supplies  of  food  were  so 
ill  calculated  that  the  whole  party  died  of  hunger  in  Spaniards'  Harbor,  on  the 
southern  coast.     Captain  Morshead,  of  the  "  Dido,"  had  received  orders  on  his 


432 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


btarvation  beach. 


way  to  Valparaiso  to  visit  the  scene  of  the  mission,  and  afford  Captain  Gardi- 
ner any  aid  he  might  require,  but,  on  arriving  at  the  cove,  he  found  it  deserted. 
After  a  few  days'  search  the  bodies  were  discovered,  and  fragments  of  a  jour- 
nal written  by  Captain  Gardiner  gave  proof  of  the  sufferings  which  they  had 
endured  before  death  reheved  them  from  their  misery.  Tli€  spot  has  received 
the  name  of  Starvation  Beach. , 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  HALL  AND  THE  INNUITS. 


433 


SUBVEYING  IN  GREENLAND. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  HALL  AND  THE  INNUITS. 

Hall's  Expedition.— His  early  Life.— His  reading  of  Arctic  Adventure.— His  Kesolve.— His  Arctic  Out- 
fit.—Sets  Sail  on  the  "  George  Henry."— The  Voyage.— Kudlago.—Holsteinborg,  Greenland.— Pop- 
ulation of  Greenland.— Sails  for  Davis's  Strait.— Character  of  the  Inniiits.— AVreck  of  the  "  Kescue." 
— Ebierbing  and  Tookoolito. — Their  Visit  to  England. — Hall's  first  Exploration. — European  and  In- 
nuit  Life  in  the  Arctic  Regions.— Building  an  Igloo. — Almost  Starved.— Fight  for  Food  with  Dogs. 
—Ebierbing  arrives  with  a  Seal.— How  he  caught  it. — A  Seal-feast.— The  Innuits  and  Seals.— The 
Polar  Bear.— How  he  teaches  the  Innuits  to  catch  Seals. — At  a  Seal-hole. — Dogs  as  Seal-hunters. — 
Dogs  and  Bears.— Dogs  and  Reindeers.— Innuits  and  Walruses.— More  about  Igloos. — Innuit  Imple- 
ments.— Uses  of  the  Reindeer. — Innuit  Improvidence. — A  Deer-feast. — A  frozen  Delicacy. — Whale- 
skin  as  Food. — Whale-gum.— How  to  eat  Whale  Ligament. — Raw  Meat. — The  Dress  of  the  Innuits. 
— A  pretty  Style. —  Religious  Ideas  of  the  Innuits.— Their  kindly  Character. —  Treatment  of  the 
Aged  and  Infirm.— A  Woman  abandoned  to  die. — Hall's  Attempt  to  rescue  her.— The  Innuit  Nomads, 
without  any  form  of  Government. — Their  Numbers  diminishing. — A  Sailor  wanders  awa}'.- — Hall's 
Search  for  him.— Finds  him  frozen  to  death.— The  Ship  free  from  Ice.— Preparations  to  return.— 
Reset  in  the  Ice-pack. — Another  Arctic  Winter.— Breaking  up  of  the  Ice. — Departure  for  Home. — 
Tookoolito  and  her  Child  •'  Butterfly."— Death  of  "  Butterfly." — Arrival  at  Home.— Results  of  Hall's 
Expedition. — Innuit  Traditions. — Discovery  of  Frobisher  Relics. — Hall  undertakes  a  second  Expedi- 
tion.—His  Statement  of  its  Object  and  Prospects.- Last'Tidings  of  Hall. 

AMONG  the  most  remarkable  expeditions  ever  undertaken  in  the  Polar  world 
is  that  of  Charles  Francis  Plall,  performed  during  the  years  1860, 1861,  and 
1862.  Its  primary  object  was  to  discover  the  survivors  of  Sir  John  Franklin's 
party;  for  at  this  time  there  was  good  reason  to  believe  that  out  of  the  105  who 
were  known  to  be  living  on  the  25th  of  April,  1848,  some  were  still  surviving. 
Towards  the  main  purpose  of  the  undertaking  nothing  was  indeed  accomplished. 
Hall  came  upon  no  traces  of  Franklin  and  his  men ;  but  he  acquired  a  more  ac- 
curate knowledge  of  the  Esquimaux — or  rather  as  they  call  themselves,  and  as 
we  shall  call  them,  the  Innuits — a  word  meaning  simply  "  men  "  or  "  people  " — 
and  their  mode  of  life  than  was  ever  before,  or  is  likely  to  be  hereafter,  gained 


434 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


t 


HALL  AND   COMPANIONS,  IN  INNUIT   COSTUME. 


by  any  other  white  man  capable  of  telling  what  he  saw,  and  a  part  of  which  he 
was.  The  remarkable  book  in  which  Mr.  Hall  describes  his  expedition*  seems 
not  to  have  come  under  the  notice  of  Dr.  Hartweg.  It  is  proposed  in  this  chap- 
ter to  supplement  the  account  of  the  Innuits  from  this  work  of  Mr.  Hall. 

*  Arctic  R!scarc/ies,  and  Life  anion;)  the  Esquimaux.    By  CiiAKLES  Fra>-cis  Hall.     Xcw  York,  18G6. 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  ILU.L  AND  THE  INNUITS.  435 

Up  to  middle  life  Hall  had  resided  in  the  inland  city  of  Cincinnati.  He  bad 
eagerly  read  every  thing  that  he  could  find  on  record  of  the  searches  made  for 
Franklin.  Large  ships  and  small  ships  had  been  sent  out.  Brave  hearts  and 
stout  hands  had  been  enlisted  in  the  search,  but  with  no  tangible  result  beyond 
ascertaining  the  spot  where  the  surviving  105  were  when  they  abandoned  their 
ships  and  took  to  the  shore,  hoping  to  make  their  way  to  their  homes.  Only 
two  of  these  men  were  proven  to  have  died ;  and  it  was  more  than  probable 
that  of  the  105  known  to  have  been  living  in  1848,  some  would  yet  be  alive  in 
1860,  for  not  a  few  of  these  men,  if  living,  would  be  still  of  middle  age. 

Hall  had  read  the  story  of  the  sufferings  of  Kane's  party  during  the  long 
months  of  the  Arctic  winter,  but  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  most  of 
these  resulted  from  the  mode  of  life  adopted  by  them.  The  Innuits,  he  knew, 
lived  to  a  good  old  age  through  a  succession  of  such  winters,  and  he  believed 
that  a  civilized  man  could  live  where  a  savage  could.  This  conviction  was  con- 
firmed by  one  of  Kane's  companions,  who  told  him,  "  When  we  lived  like  the 
Esquimaux,  we  immediately  recovered,  and  enjoyed  our  usual  health.  H  Prov- 
idence had  so  ordered  it  that  we  should  cast  our  lot  with  the  Esquimaux,  I 
have  no  doubt  that  we  would  have  lived  quite  as  long,  and  in  quite  as  good 
health  as  in  the  United  States  or  England.  White  men  can  live  where  Esqui- 
maux can,  and  frequently  when  and  where  they  can  not." 

So  Hall  grew  into  the  conviction  that  some  of  these  lost  ones  could  yet  be 
found ;  and  he  writes,  "  It  seemed  to  me  as  if  I  had  been  called,  if  I  may  so 
speak,  to  try  and  do  the  work.  My  heart  felt  sore  at  the  thought  of  so  great  a 
mystery  in  connection  with  any  of  our  fellow-creatures,  especially  akin  to  our- 
selves, yet  remaining  unsolved."  How  should  he  obey  this  call?  His  own 
means,  beyond  a  stout  frame  and  strong  will,  were  of  the  smallest.  He  broach- 
ed the  project  at  the  West,  where  it  was  received  with  favor.  Then  he  came 
East,  and  was  met  with  like  consideration.  Funds  Avere  raised,  and  the  expe- 
dition which  Hall  contemplated  was  fitted  out. 

This  expedition  consisted  simply  of  Hall  himself.  The  cash  contributed  for 
the  outfit  was  just  |980,  of  which  more  than  a  third  was  contributed  by  Henry 
Grinnell,  of  New  York.  In  addition  to  this  was  about  a  quarter  as  much  in 
the  way  of  presents.  "  These,"  says  Hall,  "  constituted  all  the  means  and  ma- 
terial I  had  to  carry  out  the  great  undertaking  my  mind  had  led  me  to  embark 
in."  Hall's  hst  of  the  articles  on  his  outfit  for  a  three  years'  residence  and  ex- 
ploration is  worthy  of  record.  It  shows  in  what  way  his  $980  in  cash  was  ex- 
pended. 

"My  outfit,"  he  writes,  "for  the  voyage  and  the  whole  of  my  expedition, 
consisted  of :— a  boat,  length  twenty-eight  feet,  beam  seven  feet,  depth  twenty- 
nine  and  one-half  inches,  drawing  eight  inches  of  water  when  loaded  with  stores 
and  a  crew  of  six  persons ;  one  sledge ;  one  half-ton  of  pemmican ;  two  hun- 
dred pounds  of  Borden's  meat  biscuit ;  twenty  pounds  pork  scrap  ;  one  pound 
preserved  quince  ;  one  pound  preserved  peaches ;  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds 
powder  ;  a  quantity  of  ball,  shot,  and  percussion  caps  ;  one  rifle,  six  double-bar- 
relled guns ;  one  Colt's  revolver  ;  beads,  needles,  etc.,  for  presents  ;  two  dozen 
pocket-knives;  some  tin  ware  ;  one  axe,  two  picks,  files,  etc.;  tobacco  and  pipes ; 


43G  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

wearing  apparel  for  self,  and  red  shirts  for  natives ;  stationery  and  journal- 
books;  watch,  opera-glass,  spy-glass  ;  sextant,  pocket  sextant,  artificial  horizon, 
azimuth  compass,  common  compass,  two  pocket  compasses  ;  three  ordinary  and 
two  self-registering  thermometers.  Some  navigation-books  and  several  Arctic 
works,  with  my  Bible  and  a  few  other  volumes,  formed  my  library."  The  boat 
and  fixtures  cost  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  ;  meat,  biscuit,  pemmican, 
etc.,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars ;  astronomical  instruments,  about  one 
hundred  dollars ;  guns  and  accoutrements,  about  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
dollars;  clothing, fifty  dollars  ;  pipes  and  tobacco,  twenty  dollars;  travelling  ex- 
penses and  express  payments, seventy-five  dollars;  dog-team,  bought  in  Green- 
land, fifty  dollars.  The  other  items  making  up  the  nine  hundred  and  eighty 
dollars  are  all  duly  given.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  balance  left  for  minor,  but 
necessary,  expenditures  was  very  small. 

New  London,  Connecticut,  is  the  port  from  which  vessels  mainly  sail  for  the 
Arctic  whale-fishery.  Here  was  the  place  of  business.  Williams  and  Haven 
largely  engaged  in  that  enterprise.  They  relieved  Hall  of  a  great  load  of 
anxiety  by  a  brief  note,  in  Avhich  they  said  :  "  As  a  testimony  of  our  person- 
al regard,  and  the  interest  we  feel  in  the  proposed  expedition,  we  will  convey 
it  and  its  required  outfit,  boats,  sledges,  provisions,  instruments,  etc.,  free  of 
charge,  on  the  barque  '  George  Henry,'  to  Northumberland  Inlet ;  and,  when- 
ever desired,  we  will  give  the  same  free  passage  home  in  any  of  our  vessels." 

On  the  29th  of  May,  1860,  the  "  George  Henry  "  set  sail,  with  a  crew,  officers 
and  men,  of  twenty-nine  souls.  Accompanying  as  tender  was  a  schooner,  which 
had  a  history.  She  was  now  known  as  the  "  Amaret ;"  but  under  the  name  of 
the  "  Rescue  '  she  had  won  fame  in  Arctic  research,  for  in  her  Kane  had  made 
his  first  Arctic  voyage.  Hall  always  calls  her  by  her  old  name,  and  the  ac- 
count of  her  loss  forms  a  striking  episode  in  his  narrative. 

We  have  said  that  Hall's  expedition  consisted  of  himself  alone.  But  when 
he  started  he  had  with  him  a  companion,  who  he  hoped  would  greatly  aid  him. 

This  was  Kudlago,  an  Innuit,  who  had 
acquired  some  knowledge  of  our  lan- 
guage in  Greenland  from  whalers,  had 
come  to  the  United  States  on  a  whal- 
ing-vessel, and  was  now  anxious  to  re- 
turn to  Greenland.  But  he  fell  sick  on 
the  voyage,  and  died  on  the  1st  of  July. 
His  last  words  were,  "  Do  you  see  the 
ice  ?"  for  he  knew  that  the  appearance 
of  ice  at  this  season  would  show  that  he 
Was  near  his  home.  He  died  three  hun- 
dred miles  at  sea,  and  was  committed 
to  the  ocean,  Hall  reading  the  funeral 
service.  A  great  iceberg — the  slender 
one  represented  on  page  48  of  this  vol- 
ume— was  drifting  close  by,  and  Hall  named  it  "  Kudlago's  Monument." 

On  the  Tth  of  July  they  reached  Holsteinborg,  the  capital  of  the  Danish  col- 


KUDLAGO. 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  HALL  AND  THE  INNUITS. 


43'; 


ony  of  Greenland,  a  town  consisting  of  twenty-four  houses.  The  entire  popula- 
tion of  Greenland  is  estimated  at  about  2450,  of  whom  2300  are  Innuits,  and  the 
remainder  Europeans.  Of  the  Innuits,  1 VOO  live  by  sealing,  and  400  by  fishing ; 
the  others  being  mainly  mechanics  and  sailors,  besides  twenty  native  catechists. 
Of  the  Europeans,  thirty-one  are  "  First  and  Second  Governors  ;"  twenty-four 
missionaries  and  priests  ;  thirty-six  clerks ;  the  others  mechanics  and  sailors. 
The  forty-four  native  and  European  missionaries  receive,  in  all,  13,600  Danish 
paper  dollars,  equal  to  about  $8500  in  specie.  The  head-schoolmaster  has  one 
hundred  and  twenty -five  paper  dollars;  three  others  receive  one  hundred  dollars 
each ;  three,  twenty-five  dollars  ;  two,  six  dollars.  Of  these  last,  one  teaches  his 
own  two  children,  who  are  the  only  ones  in  his  district.  There  are  also  four 
women,  who  get  a  dollar  a  year  each  for  teaching  children  their  letters.  The  six- 
teen Government  employes  get  from  forty  to  ninety  dollars  a  year,  besides  pr(5- 
visions  for  themselves  and  their  families.  Bread  is  baked  for  them  every 
fortnight.  The  currency  of  the  colony  is  paper,  the  "  six-skilling "  note  be- 
ino;  worth  about  three  cents. 


'^zJe<^g^My&?-. 


i)  Ski. Rim. 


^"iW. 


GREENLAND   CURRENCY. 


The  native  Greenlanders  are  by  no  means  deficient  in  intelligence.  Mr.  Hall 
gives  a  facsimile  of  a  wood-cut  representing  a  woman  and  child  drawn  and 
engraved  by  one  of  them  who  had  received  no  instruction  in  art,  and  no  educa- 
tion of  any  sort  beyond  that  of  the  majority  of  his  countrymen.  The  gi-eat 
festival  of  Greenland  is  the  birthday  of  the  King  of  Denmark,  in  which  all  the 
population,  native  and  European,  who  can  be  assembled,  take  part,  his  Majesty 
furnishing  the  cheer.  Hall  gives  a  view  of  this  celebration,  taken  from  a  draw- 
ing made  by  a  native.     The  original  drawing  Avas  full  of  character. 

The  "  Rescue"  having  rejoined  her  consort,  the  "  George  Henry,'"  from  whom 
she  had  been  separated  on  the  voyage,  the  captain  proposed  to  set  sail  for  his 
proposed  wlialing-ground  on  the  west  side  of  Davis's  Strait.     They  sailed  on  the 


438 


TPIE  POLAR  WORLD. 


24th  of  July,  Hall  accompanying.  Thi-ee  days  after,  they  encountered  a  violent 
snow-storm,  and  were  beset  by  icebergs.  On  the  8th  of  August  they  anchored 
in  a  bay  in  latitude  63°  20',  called  by  the  natives  Ookoolear,  but  by  Hall  named 
Cornelius  Grinnell  Bay.  Here  and  hereabouts  the  whalers  went  to  work,  and 
Hall  began  his  acquaintance  with  the  Esquimaux  at  home. 


WOMAN  AND  CHILD.    (Drawii  aud  Engraved  Ijy  an  innuit.) 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  HALL  AND   THE   INNUITS. 


439 


Among  these  was  Kookerjabin,  the  widow  of  Kudlago,  and  of  three  others. 
'  The  Innuits,"  writes  Hall,  "  are  a  happy  people.     As  they  crowded  our  decks, 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiii 


I  one  day  noticed  about  a  dozen  women  seated,  and  busily  engaged  at  their  work. 
Two  were  mending  one  of  the  boat's  sails,  some  were  chewing  seal-skins  for 


440 


THE  POLAR   WORLD. 


^'  '^X 


PREPARING   BOOT-SOLES. 

boot-soles,  others  wei-e  sewing,  while  one  was  tending  a  cross  baby.  It  is  rare 
to  find  an  Innuit  child  who  is  not  very  quiet,  but  this  little  fellow  had  eaten  a 
piece  of  raw  blubber,  which  had  disordered  him.  Some  of  the  amusing  tricks 
played  by  these  Esquimaux  women  are  especially  deserving  of  notice.  The  va- 
riety of  games  performed  by  a  string  tied  at  the  ends,  similar  to  a  '  cat's  cra- 
dle,' completely  throws  into  the  shade  our  adepts  at  home.  I  never  before  wit- 
Jiessed  such  a  number  of  intricate  w'ays  in  which  a  simple  string  could  be  used. 
One  arrangement  represented  a  deer  ;  another,  a  whale;  a  third,  the  walrus  ;  a 
fourth,  the  seal ;  and  so  on  without  end." 

The  short  Arctic  summer  soon  came  to  a  close.  On  the  morning  of  the 
26th  of  September  came  light  winds  from  the  north-west ;  by  noon  it  began  to 
snow,  the  wind  increasing  to  a  gale.  The  whaling-boats  all  came  in,  and  prep- 
arations were  made  for  bad  weather.  During  the  night  the  storm  grew  hourly 
fiercer.  The  "  Rescue  "  dragged  her  anchor,  and  W'as  dashed  upon  the  rocks  an 
utter  wreck.  Hall's  little  boat,  upon  which  he  had  so  much  relied,  was  torn 
from  its  moorings  and  lost, "  dooming  me,"  says  Hall,  "  to  a  wreck  of  disap- 
pointment in  the  hopes  I  had  cherished  concerning  her.  The  '  George  Hen- 
ry '  was  also  in  imminent  peril,  but  outrode  the  tempest ;  but  on  her  next 
voyage,  eighteen  months  later,  was  lost  at  a  point  hardly  a  hundred  miles  dis- 
tant." 

The  "  George  Henry  "  was  soon  after  laid  up  in  winter-quarters,  faiuly  blocked 
in  by  ice.     Hall  in  the  mean  time  had  made  himself  acquainted  with  the  Es- 


CHARLES  FRANCIS   HALL   AND   THE   INNUITS. 


441 


quimaux  of  the  region.     Prominent  among  these  were  a  couple — husband  and 
wife — whose  history  is  worthy  of  record. 


''i!M^^^ 


ifiiffiiiiiiiiiiiLjtt 


One  day — it  was  November  2 — while  Hall  was  writing  in  his  cabin,  he  heard 
a  low,  sweet  voice  saying,  "  Good-morning,  Sir."  Looking  up,  he  saw  a  comely 
woman,  dressed  in  very  good  imitation  of  civilized  costume.     He  had  heard  of 


442  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


'M^M   '--^?^   ^1 


THE  GEORGE  HENRY  LAID  UP  FOR  TUE  WINTER. 

lier  before.  Her  name  was  Tookoolito.  She  was  the  wife  of  Ebievbing,  a 
)-ather  famous  seal-hunter  and  pilot.  Seven  years  before  a  British  whaler  had 
taken  them  to  England,  where  they  were  received  as  the  lions  of  the  day. 
They  dined  Avith  Prince  Albert,  and  were  introduced  to  the  Queen.  Ebierbing 
thought  that  the  Queen  was  "  very  pretty ;"  indeed  she  bore  no  veiy  distant 
likeness  to  his  own  wife.  Tookoolito  thought  Prince  Albert  was  a  "very  kind, 
good  man."  Both  agreed  that  the  Queen  had  "  a  very  fine  place."  Tookoolito, 
as  many  thousands  in  the  United  States  afterwards  had  occasion  to  know, 
spoke  English  almost  perfectly.  Her  husband  was  less  fluent,  but  still  quite  in- 
telligible. This  pair  became  Hall's  constant  companions  in  the  Arctic  regions ; 
came  Avith  him  upon  his  return  to  the  States,  remained  there  with  him  foi-  two 
years,  and  went  back  with  him  upon  his  second  expedition,  which  now  (Septem- 
ber, 1869)  is  not  completed. 

Early  in  January  Hall  resolved  to  make  an  exploring  expedition  with  the 
dog-team  which  he  had  bought  at  Holsteinborg.  The  party  consisted  of  him- 
self, Ebierbing,  Tookoolito,  and  another  Esquimaux,  named  Koodloo.  The 
sledge  was  drawn  by  ten  dogs — five  of  which  belonged  to  Hall,  and  five  to 
Ebierbing.  They  relied  for  food  mainly  upon  the  proceeds  of  their  hunt- 
ing, taking  with  them  only  a  pound  and  a  half  of  preserved  mutton,  three 
pounds  of  salt  pork,  fifteen  pounds  of  sea-bread,  three  pounds  of  pork  scraps 
for  soup,  and  a  little  coffee,  pepper,  and  molasses.  The  trip  lasted  nearly  a 
month  and  a  half,  during  which  time  Hall  learned  to  live  like  the  Esquimaux 
in  their  snow  cabins,  and  subsisted  mainly  upon  raw  seal  flesh.  When  he  re- 
turned to  the  ship  it  was  hard  for  him  to  accustom  himself  to  the  change  from 
the  pure  atmosphere  of  a  snow-house  to  the  confined  air  of  a  small  cabin. 


CHARLES  FRANCIS   HALL   AND   THE  INNUITS. 


448 


STOEM-BOUND. 


Had  Kane  but  known  how  to  pass  an  Arctic  winter,  the  world  would  never 
liave  had  occasion  to  read  one  of  the  most  pathetic  accounts  ever  written  of 
suffering.  Buddington,  the  captain  of  the  "  George  Henry,"  had  learned  the  les- 
son by  dear  experience.  Five  years  before,  when  in  command  of  another  ves- 
sel, he  had  lost  thirteen  of  his  men  by  scurvy.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  I  am  not  now 
afraid  of  losing  any  more  men  by  scurvy  while  I  have  command  over  them. 
Whenever  there  are  appearances  of  it  on  board,  I  will  have  every  pork  and  beef 
barrel — salt  provisions  of  every  kind — headed  up  at  once,  and  every  man  shall 
live  upon  bread  and  fresh  provision,  such  as  Avhale,  walrus,  seal,  deer,  bear,  ptar- 
migan, duck,  and  the  like.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  persons  afflicted 
with  scurvy  seem  madly  inclined  to  salt  provisions,  which  they  know  to  be  in 
their  case  absolute  poisons.  They  will  go  any  length  to  obtain  salt  pork,  even 
when  they  have  fresh  food  in  abundance." 

Hall's  first  night  in  an  igloo  may  stand  as  a  sample  of  many  more.  We 
cite,  with  much  abridgment,  from  his  journal : 

"  We  encamped  at  5  p.m.,  having  found  good  material  for  building  a  snow- 
house.  Ebierbing  and  Koodloo  at  once  commenced  sawing  out  snow-blocks, 
while  I  carried  them  to  a  suitable  spot  for  erecting  the  igloo,  which  took  us 
one  hour  to  make.  As  soon  as  it  Avas  completed  Tookoolito  entered,  and  com- 
menced placing  the  stone  lamp  in  its  proper  position.  It  was  trimmed,  and 
soon  a  kettle  of  snow  was  over  it,  making  water  for  coffee  and  soup.  She  then 
placed  several  pieces  of  board,  which  we  had  brought  with  us,  on  the  snow  plat- 
form where  our  beds  were  to  be  made.  Upon  these  were  placed  canvas  and 
deer-skins,  and  our  sleeping  accommodations  were  complete.  The  drying  of 
any  thing  that  has  become  wet  during  the  day  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  woman. 


4U  THE   POLAR   WORLD. 

She  places  them  in  a  net  liung  over  the 
-ss**    -  lamp  and  attends  to  them  throu2;h  the 

night,  meanwhile  mending  all  articles 
of  clothing  that  need  repairs.  Presently 
our  evening  meal  was  ready.  It  con- 
sisted of  Cincinnati  '  crackling '  soup, 
a  bit  of  raw  salt  pork,  half  a  biscuit  for 
each,  and  coffee." 

A  snow-house,  built  in  an  hour,  is 
^1  -.*»j  -^,i  abandoned  when  the  use  for  it  is  over. 

iNNuiT  STONE  LAMP.  Thc  dogs  are  suffered  to  enter,  and  ap- 

propriate any  thing  that  is  left  wliich 
suits  their  taste.  Nothing  comes  amiss  to  them.  On  the  third  night  Hall  had 
his  hair  cut  by  Tookoolito,  and  the  clippings  were  left  on  the  floor.  The  dogs 
swallowed  these,  among  other  things.  Stoi-my  weather  soon  came  on.  There 
■was  no  hunting  or  sealing,  and  the  party  had  nothing  to  eat  except  some  bits  of 
raw,  frozen  whale's-skin  which  they  found  in  a  cache,  which  a  party  from  the 
ship  had  made  a  few  weeks  before.  Not  far  off  was  an  igloo  belonging  to  an 
Innuit  named  Ugarng,  whom  they  knew.  Hall  went  to  it  hoping  to  find  some- 
thing Id  eat.  Ugarng  had  just  come  in,  having  spent  two  whole  days  and  a 
night  in  watching  over  a  seal-hole  without  success.  He  had  heard  the  seal 
blow,  and  that  was  all.  He  bore  his  disappointment  coolly.  "  Away  I  go  to- 
morrow again,"  he  said.  He  went  next  day,  remained  all  night  over  the  seal- 
hole,  and  came  back  with  nothing.  "  This  was  very  bad  for  the  whole  of  us," 
says  Hall.  How  bad  it  was  for  the  poor  wife  of  Ugarng  and  her  children  may 
be  inferred  from  hei-  own  Avords.  They  were  without  food  or  light ;  her  infant 
was  restless  from  hunger.  She  said  simply,  "  Me  got  no  milk,  meat  all  gone, 
blubber  too  ;  nothing  to  eat,  no  heat ;  must  wait  till  get  seal." 

Hall  was  about  as  near  starvation  as  were  the  Innuits.  All  he  had  to  eat 
was  a  bit  of  the  "  black  skin  "  of  a  Avhale,  and  this  he  relished  ;  he  could  have 
eaten  any  thing  which  would  have  gone  to  keep  up  internal  heat,  and  make  bone 
and  flesh.  Ebierbing  was  away  hunting.  At  length  Tookoolito  managed  to 
extemporize  a  warm  dinner.  From  the  black  skin  she  tried  out  enough  oil  to 
fill  tlie  lamp  and  heat  some  snow-watei-.  This  was  thickened  with  a  coui^le  of 
ounces  left  of  a  quart  of  meal  which  formed  a  part  of  the  stores  Avith  Avhich 
they  set  out.  The  pair  shared  the  "  pudding,"  and  thought  it  excellent.  The 
cold  Avas  scA'ere.  Within  the  dark  igloo  the  thermometer  stood  at  about  zero; 
outside,  25°  to  52°below  zero.  Under  these  circumstances  Hallkeptat  his  journal, 
sitting  Avrapped  in  furs  to  keep  from  freezing.  So  passed  ten  days.  Ebierbing 
had  gone  back  to  the  vessel  in  order  to  bring  back  some  food.  Day  by  day 
Hall  Avent  to  the  top  of  a  hill,  straining  his  eyes  over  the  snoAvy  Avaste  in  hope 
of  seeing  the  approach  of  the  messenger.  On  the  evening  of  the  24th  of  Jan- 
uary, fourteen  days  after  their  starting  upon  the  expedition,  they  Avere  reduced 
to  their  last  ration  of  food,  which  was  a  piece  of  black  skin  tAvo  inches  long,  an 
inch  and  a  half  Avide,  and  three-quarters  of  an  inch  thick. 

At  midnight  footsteps  Avere  heard  approaching;  Hall  sprang  from  his  bed 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  HALL  AND   THE  INNUITS. 


445 


aud  opened  the  snow-block  door.  There  was  "  Jack,"  an  Innuit,  Avho  had  gone 
out  on  a  hunt,  with  his  spear  strung  with  strips  of  seal-bhibber.  Hall's  favor- 
ite dog  had  been  allowed  to  sleep  in  the  igloo.  The  half-starved  creature 
scented  the  blubber,  gave  a  desperate  leap,  and  grasped  a  portion  of  the  food, 
and  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  Hall  and  the  others  swallowed  it.  Before  the 
door  could  be  closed  all  the  other  dogs  outside  were  aroused,  and  fighting  for  a 
share.     Ariiong  them  they  got  nearly  the  whole.     Next  morning  Hall  went  out, 


FIGHTIXG    FOR   FOOD 


and  gazing  in  the  direction  from  which  the  approach  of  Ebierbing  was  hoped 
for,  saw  something  black  moving  over  the  snow.  It  was  Ebierbing  with  dogs 
and  a  sledge,  loaded  with  provisions  from  the  ship,  and  also  with  a  seal  which 
he  had  caught  that  morning.  A  great  seal-feast  took  place  at  once,  which  Hall 
thus  describes : 

"  According  to  Innuit  custom,  an  immediate  invitation  Avas  given  by  the  suc- 
cessful hunter's  family  for  every  one  to  attend  a  seal-feast.  Our  igloo  was  soon 
crowded.  My  station  was  on  the  dais,  or  bed-place,  so  that  I  could  watch 
what  was  going  on.  The  first  thing  done  was  to  consecrate  the  blubber  by 
sprinkling  water  over  it.  Then  our  host  proceeded  to  separate  the  blubber 
and  skin  from  the  meat  and  skeleton  of  the  seal.  The  body  was  then  opened, 
and  the  blood  scooped-out.  The  blood  is  considered  very  precious.  The  liver 
came  next,  cut  into  pieces  and  eaten  raw,  I  getting  a  share.  Then  followed  dis- 
tributing the  ribs,  for  social  picking,  also  eaten  raw,  I  doing  my  duty,  and  be- 
coming quite  an  Innuit  in  all  except  in  the  quantity  eaten.  This  I  might  chal- 
lenge any  white  man  to  do.     No  human  stomach  but  an  Innuit's  could  possibly 


446  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


THKOUGH  THE   SNOW. 


liokl  what  I  saw  these  men  and  women  devour.  When  the  feast  was  ended, 
the  company  dispersed.  Tookoolito  then  sent  around  bountiful  gifts  of  seal- 
blubber  for  fire-lamps,  also  some  seal-meat  and  blood.  This  is  the  usual  cus- 
tom among  the  Innuits.  They  share  each  other's  success,  and  bear  each  oth- 
er's w^ants.  Generally  if  it  is  found  that  one  is  short  of  provisions,  it  may  be 
known  that  all  are  so." 

The  manner  in  which  Ebierbing  secured  that  precious  seal  is  a  striking  ex- 
ample of  Innuit  patience.  On  his  way  to  the  ship  the  dogs  discovered  a  seal- 
liole.  He  marked  the  spot  by  making  a  small  pile  of  snow  close  by,  and  squirt- 
ing a  mouthful  of  tobacco-juice  upon  it  by  way  of  mark.  On  his  return  he 
found  the  hole,  and  determined  to  try  to  secure  the  animal.  So  wrapping  his 
feet  and  legs  in  furs  taken  from  the  sledge,  he  took  his  position,  spear  in  hand, 
over  the  seal-hole.  It  Avas  buried  two  feet  deep  under  the  snow.  He  thrust 
his  spear  through  the  snow  again  and  again  until  he  found  the  little  aperture 
leading  through  the  ice;  then  in  the  dark  night  he  seated  himself  close  by, 
waiting  to  hear  the  blowing  of  tlie  seal.  Towards  morning  the  welcome  sound 
was  heard.  One  well-aimed  thrust  of  the  spfear  secured  the  prize.  Ebierbing 
was  nearly  frozen,  his  nose  being  frostbitten ;  but  he  suffered  more  from  tliirst 
than  from  cold.  There  was  indeed  snow  all  around,  but  in  that  intense  cold 
the  mouth  does  not  retain  sufficient  caloric  to  melt  a  piece  of  snow  placed  in  it. 
His  first  call  when  he  reached  the  igloo  was  for  water.  To  watch  all  night  at 
a  seal-hole  would  seem  to  be  a  sufficient  trial  of  patience  and  endurance  ;  but 
Hall  notes  another  time  when  Ebierbing  passed  two  whole  days  and  nights 
without  food  by  a  hole,  and  then  failed  to  secure  the  seal. 

To  the  Innuit  the  seal  is,  in  the  broadest  sense,  the  staff  of  life.  It  is  to 
them  all  that  flocks  and  herds,  grain-fields,  forests,  coal  mines,  and  petroleum 
Avells  are  to  dwellers  in  more  favored  lands.  It  furnishes  to  them  food,  fuel^ 
and  clothing.  The  seal  is  the  most  wary  and  suspicious  of  creatures  ;  to  cap- 
ture him  demands  a  patience  and  dexterity  which  throws  into  the  shade  all  the 
exploits  of  deer-stalkers  and  lion-hunters.  "  Nutchook,"  for  so  the  Innuits  name 
the  seal,  has  good  reason  for  wariness,  for  his  chief  enemy,  "  Xinoo,"  the  bear, 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  HALL  AND   THE  INNUITS. 


447 


WAITING   BV    A   .SEAL-HOLE. 


against  whom  he  has  to  keep  constant  Avatch,  is  a  keen  hunter.  The  Innu- 
its  acknowledge  that  "  Ninoo  "  has  taught  them  how  to  catch  "  Nutchook," 
the  common  seal,  and  his  big  cousin  "  Oookgook,"  the  great  seal.  Hall,  no  con- 
temptible sportsman,  acknowledges  that  he  was  never  able  to  get  within  rifle- 


448 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


shot  of  a  seal  when  baskhig  upon  the  ice ;  yet  Ninoo  catches  them  with  his 
own  paws ;  and  the  Innuits,  taught  by  him,  come  within  the  distance  of   a 

spear's  cast. 

The  way  Ninoo  goes  to  work  at  seal-hunting  upon  the  ice,  according  to  In- 
nuit  accounts,  is  this :  He  sees  far  away  upon  the  ice  a  black  spot,  which  he 
knows  to  be  a  seal  resting  at  the  edge  of  his  hole,  and  taking  a  succession  of 
"  cat  naps,"  hardly  ten  seconds  long,  hfthig  up  his  head  between  times,  and  nar- 
rowly surveying  the  whole  horizon.  Ninoo  flings  himself  upon  his  side,  and 
(M-eeps  along  when  the  seal's  head  is  down.  The  moment  the  seal's  head  is 
raised  the  bear  stops  short,  and  begins  "  talking "  to  the  seal.  The  sound 
which  he  utters  is  quite  distinct  from  his  ordinary  voice.  The  seal  is  charmed, 
suspects  no  harm,  and  down  goes  his  head  for  another  nap.  Forward  goes 
Ninoo,  and  so  on  for  a  long  time,  until  he  gets  within  leaping  distance  ;  then 
one  spring,  and  it  is  all  over  wath  Nutchook.  The  Innuits  say  that  if  they 
could  only  talk  to  Nutchook  as  cleverly  as  Ninoo  does,  they  would  catch  more 
seals.     The  Innuit  imitates  Ninoo. 

Hall  describes  one  of  these  hunts,  the  main  actor  being  an  Innuit  named 
Koojesse:  "  Koojesse  had  '  talk'  with  seals,  and  it  was  with  great  interest  that 
I  watched  him.  He  lay  down  on  one  side,  and  crawled  by  hitches  or  jerks  to- 
w^ards  his  victim ;  then  as  the  seal  raised  its  head  Koojesse  w^ould  stop,  and 
commenced  pawing  with  his  right  hand  and  foot,  while  he  uttered  his  '  seal- 
talk.'  On  this  the  seal  w^ould  feel  a  charm,  raise  and  shake  its  flippers  both 
fore  and  aft,  and  roll  over  on  its  side  and  back  as  if  perfectly  delighted ;  after 


LOOKING  FOR  SEALS. 


CHARLES   FRANCIS  HALL  AND   THE  INNUITS. 


449 


III 


ii 


jiiiMS:iii!'ftM^n:^.!i«ii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiai!iiiiiii;iia 


this  it  would  drop  its  head  to  sleep.  Then  Koojesse  would  hitch  along  till  the 
seal's  head  would  pop  up  again,  which  usually  occurred  every  few  moments." 
In  this  particular  case  the  seal  escaped,  for  the  Innuit  had  approached  too  near, 
and  had  thus  broken  the  charm. 

In  the  Avinter,  when  the   seal  lives  under  the  ice,  its  capture  requires  great 

29 


450 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


SEAL-HOLE  AND  IGLOO. 


skill  and  perseverance.  She,  for  some- 
how the  male  seal  seems  now  not  to  be 
noticed,  has  a  breathing-hole  throxigh 
the  ice,  to  which  she  must  come  now 
and  then  for  air.  Upon  the  surface  of 
the  solid  ice,  which  is  covered  with 
snow,  the  prospective  mother  constructs 
an  igloo  for  her  progeny.  She  scrapes 
ofE  the  snow  until  she  has  formed  a 
dome,  carrying  away  the  snow  down 
through  the  hole  in  the  ice.  Upon  the 
shelf  of  ice  surrounding  the  hole  the 
young  one  is  born,  and  there  it  is  regu- 
larly visited  by  the  mothei'.  None  but 
very  keen-scented  animals,  such  as  the 
bear,  fox,  and  dog,  can  discover  such 
an  igloo.  The  dog  sometimes  captures 
a  seal.  Hall  describes  such  an  event: 
"  Ebierbing  had  one  day  been  out  with 
dogs  and  sledge  where  the  ice  was  still 
firm,  when  suddenly  a  seal  was  noticed 

ahead.  In  an  instant  the  dogs  were  off  towards  the  prey,  drawing  the  sledge 
after  them  at  a  marvellous  rate.  The  seal  for  a  moment  acted  as  if  frightened, 
and  kept  on  the  ice  a  second  or  two  too  long,  for  just  as  he  plunged.  Smile, 
tho  Iv-f  conl  nnd  bpnv  doer  T  ever  saw,  caught  him  by  the  tail  and  flippers.     The 

seal    struggled  violently,  and   so  did 


cr  dogs  laid  hold,  and  aided  in  dragging 
the  seal  out  of  his  hole,  when  Smile 
took  it  in  charge.  The  prize  was  se- 
cured wholly  by  the  dogs." 

Dogs  seem  to  hunt  the  seal  only 
upon  their  master's  account ;  but  the 
fox  and  the  bear  capture  him  for  them- 
selves. How  the  fox  contrives  to  get 
into  a  seal  igloo  we  are  not  told ;  but 
;is  they  manage  to  break  open  the  best 
packed  provision-cases,  we  may  assume 
that  they  know  how  to  commit  bur- 
glary upon  the  igloo  of  a  poor  seal.  If 
tlie  Innuits  are  to  be  believed,  the  way 
the  bear  goes  to  work  is  this:  When 
lie  has  scented  out  the  precise  position 
of  an  igloo  he  goes  back  a  little  dis- 
tance, so  as  to  get  a  good  run ;  and 
then,  giving  a  high  leap,  comes  down 


WAITING  FOR  A  BLOW. 


CHARLES   FRANCIS   HALL  AND   THE   INNUITS. 


451 


AND    SEAL. 


with  all  his  weight  upon  the  roof  of  the  dome,  crushes  it  in,  and  with  his  paw 
seizes  the  young  seal,  who  was  quietly  asleep  upon  the  ice-shelf.  The  cunning 
bear  is  not  always  satisfied  with  the  little  infant  seal,  but  uses  it  as  a  bait  to 
catch  its  mother.  Having  caught  the  young  one,  and  holding  it  fast  by  the 
hind  flippers,  the  bear  scrapes  away  all  the  snow,  and  lets  the  young  seal  paddle 
about  in  the  water;  its  cries  draw  the  mother  to  the  hole,  and  within  reach 
of  the  bear's  paw,  when  one  grab  is  given,  and  the  anxious  mother  is  secured. 
At  all  events  the  Innuits  practise  this  sort  of  strategy  with  the  seal,  and  they 
declare  that  they  have  learned  it  from  the  bear. 

The  bear  is  to  the  Innuits  the  embodiment  of  all  wisdom.  They  tell  sto- 
ries of  his  sagacity  which  are  hard  to  believe.  Thus  they  say  that  when  he 
sees  a  walrus  basking  upon  the  ice  at  the  foot  of  a  high  cliff,  he  mounts  to  the 
summit  of  the  cliff,  and  picking  up  a  big  stone  flings  it  down  with  perfect  aim 
upon  the  head  of  the  walrus  and  crushes  its  thick  skull.  If  it  should  happen 
that  the  walrus  is  only  stunned,  the  bear  crawls  down  the  cliff,  picks  up  a  stone, 
and  with  it  hammers  away  at  the  head  of  the  walrus  until  the  skull  is  broken. 
This  story  of  the  Innuits  needs  confii-mation,  though  Hall  seems  to  credit  it. 

The  dog  is  essential  to  the  existence  of  the  Innuits.  As  they  have  never 
domesticated  the  reindeer,  without  the  dog  they  could  not  travel  from  place  to 
place,  which  they  are  obliged  to  do  in  order  to  follow  the  migrations  of  the  seal 
and  walrus,  upon  which  they  mainly  subsist.  Without  him  they  could  never 
find  out  the  holes  in  the  ice  through  which  the  seal  comes  up  to  breathe  in  the 
winter.  Their  doo-s  seem  to  be  much  more  intelligent  and  docile  than  those  of 
any  other  of  the  Polar  tribes.  When  one  is  found  to  be  more  than  usually  in- 
telligent he  is  carefully  trained  as  a  seal-dog.  When  the  dog  scents  a  seal- 
hole,  which  he  does  though  it  is  covered  deep  under  the  snow,  he  unerringly 
follows  the  scent  to  the  very  spot. 

The  Innuit  proceeds  to  "  prospect "  by  driving  the  slender  spear  through 
the  snow  until  he  finds  the  small  opening  in  the  ice  which  leads  to  the  main 
hole.  He  then  withdraws  the  spear,  taking  the  utmost  care  not  to  disturb  the 
snow,  and  seats  himself  close  by  to  await  the  coming  of  the  seal.  He  watches 
for  hours,  and  sometimes  for  days,  before  he  hears  the  welcome  "  blow."     At 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


SPEARING  THKOUGH  THE   SNOW. 


the  second  ov  third  puff,  he  knows  that  the  nose  of  the  seal  is  at  the  bottoni  of 
the  breathingdiole,  perhaps  two  yards  below  the  spot  where  he  is  standing. 
The  spear  must  be  thrust  with  perfect  accuracy  ;  for  an  error  of  a  quarter  of  an 
mch  on  either  side  would  miss  the  hole,  and  the  spear-point  would  strike  the 


CHARLES   FRANCIS   HALL   AND   THE   INNUITS. 


453 


solid  ice,  and  the  seal  would  be  away  in  an  instant.  If  the  blow  is  well-aimed 
and  at  the  right  instant,  it  pierces  the  head  of  the  unseen  seal,  who  instantly 
dives,  and  runs  out  the  eight  or  ten  fathoms  of  line  which,  fastened  to  the  har- 
poon, is  tied  around  the  waist  of  the  Innuit.  The  snow  is  then  dug  away,  the 
breathing-hole  enlarged,  so  as  to  permit  the  seal  to  be  drawn  through. 


DOGS   AND  BEAK. 


Tlie  dogs  also  take  special  delight  in  hunting  the  bear.  When  a  team  scent 
a  bear  it  is  impossible  to  restrain  them.  Once  when  Hall  was  on  a  joui-ney  a 
bear  with  her  cub  was  seen  on  the  ice  at  the  foot  of  a  high  mountain.  When 
within  two  hundred  yards^  the  leading  dog  was  cut  loose,  and  he  made  straight 
for  the  bear ;  one  by  one  the  others  were  set  free  from  the  sledge,  and  all  were 
in'hot  pursuit.  One  dog  set  upon  the  cub,  and  finally  separated  it  from  its 
mother ;  another  caught  the  dam ;  and  both  rolled  down  a  precipice,  up  which 
the  bear  scrambled  again  and  escaped,  for  it  was  so  steep  that  the  dogs  could 
not  follow.  All  the  dogs,  eleven  in  number,  now  set  upon  the  cub.  Hall  com- 
ing up,  the  young  brute  made  at  him  ;  he  ran  it  through  with  his  spear.  He 
expected  that  the  Innuits  would  applaud  his  courage  and  dexterity ;  but  they 
shook  their  heads  and  said  nothing  at  the  time.  They  soon  showed  the  utmost 
determination  to  leave  the  neighborhood,  and  explained  by  saying  that  the  old 
bear  would  come  back  at  night,  smell  the  blood  of  the  cub,  and  become  en- 
raged, and  kill  them  all.  The  Innuits  avoid  killing  a  young  bear  until  they 
have  dispatched  the  old  one,  for  they  say  that  knowing  the  death  of  her  young 
makes  her  a  hundred  times  more  terrible.     Althous^h  the  liver  of  the  seal  is 


454 


THE   POLAR  WORLD. 


BARBEKAKK   AND   THE   REINDEER. 

licld  to  be  a  great  delicacy,  the  Innuits  never  eat  that  or  the  head  of  the  boar  ; 
nor,  if  they  can  prevent  it,  will  they  suffer  their  dogs  to  do  so. 

The  Innuit  dogs  also  sometimes  hunt  the  reindeer.  Hall's  dogs  one  day 
gave  chase  to  a  deer,  and  one  of  them,  Barbekark,  sprung  at  its  throat,  and  bit 
through  skin,  windpipe,  jugular,  and  tongue,  taking  out  the  piece  as  clearly  as 
though  it  had  been  cut  with  a  knife.  Barbekark  was  brought  to  the  United 
States  by  Mr.  Hall,  and  died  there.  His  stuifed  skin  showed  him  to  be  a  noble 
beast  of  unusual  size. 

The  walrus  enters  largely  into  the  supplies  of  the  Innuits.  They  manifest 
much  courage  and  skill  in  harpooning  these  ungainly  beasts.  The  hunter  goes 
out  armed  with  a  lance  and  a  peculiar  harpoon  made  for  that  purpose.  A  long 
hide-rope  is  attached  to  the 
head  of  the  harpoon,  and  coil- 
ed around  the  neck  of  the 
hunter,  who  crawls  along  un- 
til he  comes  within  striking 
distance  of  the  walrus,  who 
lies  basking  upon  the  ice.  The 
walrus  dives  at  once ;  the  hun- 
ter slips  the  coil  off  from  his 
neck,  and  fastens  the  end  of  it 
to  a  spear  driven  into  the  ice ; 
thus  tethering  the  animal.  As 
soon  as  the  walrus  comes  up 
he  is  dispatched  with  a  long 


HEAD   OF    REINDEER. 


CHAKLES  FBANCIS  HALL  AND  THE  INNUm. 


455 


Si-EAKING    THE   WALKUS. 

d,awn  into  the  water,  and  a™-'  ^'J^^,  ,,,,,  ,„ely  happen, 
instance  of  such  a  -'-^'■■°1*':7;  ^  X  in  availing  themselves  of  every  fa- 
The  Innuits  show  remaAable  uigenuiiy 


45G 


THE   POLAR  WORLD. 


cility  afforded  by  their  hihospi table  country.  Of  tlieir  igloos  or  snow-houses 
we  have  already  spoken.  In  half  an  hour  a  couple  of  men  will  build  one  of 
these,  which  answers  very  well  for  a  temporary  shelter.  When  one  is  to  be 
built  for  a  longer  residence,  more  care  is  taken  in  the  construction.  -A  site  is 
chosen  where  the  snow  is  "hard — if  possible,  over  a  running  stream,  so  that  they 


iiii,,.iii 


5^ 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  HALL   AND   THE   INNUITS. 


.457 


"WALRUS  SKULL  AND  TUSKS. 


can  obtain  water  without  the  la- 
bor of  melting  the  ice.  A  circle 
is  marked  out  for  the  ground 
plan.  Blocks  of  snow  are  cut 
with  a  large  knife  or  saw.  These 
blocks  are  three  feet  long,  eight- 
een inches  wide,  and  six  inches 
thick,  shaped  rounding,  so  that 
each  block  forms  the  segment  of 
a  circle  of  the  proposed  diameter 
of  the  igloo.  The  blocks  are  slight- 
ly tapered  off  on  the  inner  side, 
and  are  laid  spirally,  one  man 
building  from  within,  while  the 
other  brings  the  blocks  from  without.  The  courses  grow  smaller  and  smaller 
as  the  dome  rises,  until  there  is  only  a  narrow  open  circle,  into  which  a  block 
of  snow  is  dropped  by  way  of  keystone,  binding  the  whole  dome  firmly  together. 
The  man  within  now  carefully  examines  every  part,  and  if  there  are  any  open- 
ings left  they  are  stopped  up  with  snow.  A  hole  for  a  door  is  then  cut ;  and 
through  this  are  passed  the  snow-blocks  to  build  the  divan,  wdiich  forms  the 
seats  and  bed.  A  tunnel-like  passage  is  then  dug  and  covered  over.  This  is  so 
low  and  narrow  that  one  must  crawl  on  all  fours  to  pass  through  it.  The  outer 
door  of  the  passage  consists  of  a  block  of  ice  or  hard  snow  fitting  closely  to 
the  opening  and  turning  upon  a  sort  of  pivot.  The  usual  diameter  of  a  family 
igloo  is  twelve  or  sixteen  feet,  and  its  height  about  eight.  It  will  accommodate 
ten  or  a  dozen  people. 

When  newly  built,  an  igloo  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  structures  conceiv- 
able. The  blocks  are  more  transparent  than  the  clearest  alabastey  and  whiter 
than  the  purest  marble,  but  they  soon  become  defaced  by  the  smoke  and  the 
filth  of  all  kinds  which  rapidly  accumulates.  Apart  from  the  divan,  almost  the 
only  article  of  furniture  is  the  stone  lamp,  which  serves  the  purpose  both  of 
lamp  and  furnace.  It  reminds  one  of  an  implement  common  among  civilized 
people,  and  known  as  an  "  Etna." 

The  Innuits  show  great  dexterity  in  the  construction  of  their  implements 
and  in  the  fabrication  of  their  clothing.  Their  canoes  have  been  the  admira- 
tion of  every  voyager  in  the  Arctic  regions,  and  they  are  wonderfully  dexterous 
in  the  management  of  them.  Their  sledges  have  the  runners  made  of  bits  of 
bone  ingeniously  tied  together  with  the  sinews  of  the  deer.  When  they  wish 
them  to  run  very  smoothly  they  shoe  them  with 
ice,  by  simply  squirting  from  their  mouths  a 
thin  stream  of  water  upon  the  runner,  where  it 
congeals  in  an  instant.  The  "  oodloo,"  or  woman's 
knife,  is  shaped  like  our  common  meat-chopper. 
It  is  made  of  bone,  merely  edged  with  iron ;  but 
in  the  hands  of  an  Innuit  woman  it  takes  the 
place  of  the  knife,  hatchet,  scraper,  and  shears  of  the  woman's  knife. 


458 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


INNUIT   IMPLEMENTS. 


her  civilized  sisters.  The  different  lands  of  spears  and  harpoons  used  in  captur- 
ing the  seal,  walrus,  and  whale  are  admirably  adapted  for  their  purpose.  We 
doubt  Avhether  we  could  improve  upon  the  design,  and,  with  all  our  facilities  in 
the  way  of  material,  very  much  in  the  way  of  execution.  The  Innuits  have 
clearly  given  their  whole  minds  to  the  fabrication  of  these  weapons.  They  have 
the  bow  and  arrow,  and  are  quite  clever  in  its  employment ;  but  for  them  it  is 
of  little  use  except  in  the  shooting  of  birds,  for  a  seal  or  walrus  would  not  even 
feel  an  arrow  shot  from  the  strongest  bow. 

Although  the  Innuits  have  never  domesticated  the  reindeer,  it  yet  plays  a 
great  part  in  their  economy.  Their  clothing  and  bedding  is  composed  almost 
wholly  of  deer-skin,  which  is  one  of  the  best  non-conductors  of  heat  known. 
Even  when  the  thermometer  marks  VO  degrees-  below  the  freezing-point,  they 
never  use  but  one  for  bedding;  and  Mr.  Hall  says  that  he  has  slept  under  a 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  HALL   AND   THE  INNUITS.  459 

dozen  of  the  best  woollen  blankets  and  been  almost  frozen,  while  a  single  slender 
skin  kept  him  abundantly  warm.  During  the  summer  the  deei-  furnishes  a 
great  part  of  the  food  of  the  people.  The  grass  and  mosses  upon  which  the 
deer  live  are  very  abundant.  Nowhere,  except  on  the  prairies  of  the  West,  had 
Hall  ever  seen  such  luxuriant  pasturage,  and  the  deer  in  August  were  so  plenti- 
ful that  they  were  killed  merely  for  the  sake  of  their  hide's  and  tallow,  which  is 
a  great  luxury,  fully  equal,  in  Hall's  opinion,  to  the  finest  bntter.  If  the  Innuits 
would  only  store  up  their  provisions  in  the  season  of  plenty,  they  need  never 
suffer  from  famine ;  but  they  never  do  this,  and  the  consequence  is  that  from 
November  till  May  they  are  almost  always  on  the  verge  of  starvation,  while 
during  the  rest  of  the  year  they  revel  in  plenty. 

As  a  pendant  to  Mr.  Hall's  account  of  a  seal-feast,  we  give  his  description  of 
a  reindeer-feast.  The  date  is  December,  the  season  of  scarcity.  "  Four  months 
before,  they  had  more  deer-meat  than  they  could  eat — and  the  quantity  that  an 
Innuit  and  his  dog  can  consume  is  something  almost  incredible.  But  one  day  a 
man  came  in  from  a  hunting  excursion  bearing  with  him  a  portion  of  the  car- 
casses of  two  deer,  frozen  as  hard  as  a  rock.  A  general  invitation  for  a  feast 
was  of  course  given  out ;  and  the  entire  population,  about  thirty  in  all,  rushed 
in.  Sampson,  the  giver  of  the  feast,  acted  as  master  of  ceremonies.  He  first 
made  the  ladies  on  the  bed  give  away,  so  as  to  clear  a  space  whereon  he  might 
do  the  carving.  Then  he  placed  a  huge  seal-skin  on  this  spot,  by  way  of  table- 
cloth, upon  which  the  frozen  carcass  was  laid.  This  he  began  to  carve  with  a 
hatchet.  Slabs  of  its  side  were  chopped  and  peeled  off;  chips  of  ice  flew  here 
and  there  into  the  faces  of  the  guests  at  each  stroke  of  the  axe.  As  fast  as  the 
fragments  of  venisQn  rolled  off,  other  men  took  the  pieces,  and  by  means  of  a 
saw  and  seal-knives  reduced  them  to  a  size  adapted  for  handling.  Then  Samp- 
son distributed  these  bits,  one  to  eajh,  till  every  mill  had  its  grist  to  grind. 
Thus  for  half  an  hour  Sampson  carved ;  then  his  hatchet-handle  broke  off  close 
up  to  the  head.  Another  axe  was  sent  for,  and  meanwhile,  with  the  half  of  a 
saw,  the  two  saddles  were  divided  into  the  proper  number  of  pieces,  ready  for 
distribution.  The  carcass  was  then  once  more  attacked,  and  the  shell  was 
broken,  split,  and  sawed  to  pieces.  In  it  was  the  '  kernel,'  to  which  all  looked 
with  anxious  eyes  ;  this  was  at  last  divided  into  as  many  pieces  as  there  were 
pieces  of  saddle,  and  then  one  of  each  was  given  to  every  guest.  I  received 
my  share  with  gratitude,  and,  with  a  piece  in  each  hand,  began  eating.  I  bit 
off  a  mouthful  of  the  saddle-piece  ;  it  was  good.  I  took  a  morsel  of  the  other ; 
it  was  delightful :  its  flavor  was  a  kind  of  sorrel  acid  ;  it  had  an  ambrosial  taste  ; 
it  fairly  melted  in  my  mouth.  When  nearly  through,  I  had  the  curiosity  to 
crowd  my  way  to  a  light  to  see  what  this  delicious  frozen  food  was,  for  where  I 
sat  I  was  shaded  by  large  forms  between  me  and  the  firelight.  I  looked  at  it, 
rolled  it  over,  and  looked  again.  Behold,  it  was  the  contents  of  a  reindeer's 
paunch !     On  this  discovery  I  stopped  feasting  for  that  night." 

Mr.  Hall  passes  judgment  upon  various  other  articles  of  Innuit  food.  Seal's 
blood,  smoking  hot,  is  excellent.  The  skin  of  the  whale,  three-quarters  of  an 
inch  thick,  looking  like  India-rubber,  even  when  raw,  is  good  eating ;  but  when 
boiled  and  soused  in  vinegar,  is  most'excellent.     The  "  gum  "  of  the  whale,  that 


460  THE   POLAR  WORLD. 

is,  the  substance  in  which  whalebone  is  set,  is  a  special  Innuit  delicacy ;  it  looks 
like  cocoa-nut  meat,  and  tastes  like  unvipe  chestnuts.  Hall  could  not  fully  ap- 
preciate this  ;  but  he  adds  savingly,  "  If  the  struggle  was  for  life,  and  its  pres- 
ervation depended  upon  the  act,  I  would  undoubtedly  eat  whale's  gum  uutil  I 
got  something  better  to  my  liking."  Once  a  substance  which  looked  hke  a 
choice  bit  from  a  turkey's  breast  was  handed  to  him.  He  thought  he  had 
stumbled  upon  a  delicacy,  but  after  vainly  trying  to  masticate  it  for  half  an 
hour,  he  found  it  as  solid  as  when  he  began.  This  substance  was  the  ligament 
lying  between  the  vertebra  of  the  whale.  He  had  made  a  mistake  in  the  way 
of  disposing  of  it.  The  Innuit  mode  is  to  take  a  huge  piece  into  the  mouth, 
lubricate  it  thoroughly,  and  then  bolt  it  whole,  as  the  boa-constrictor  swallows 
a  deer.  Hall  thinks  well  of  the  Innuit  practice  of  eating  their  meat  raw,  in  a 
sanitary  point  of  view  ;  but  he  never  quite  liked  it.  He  never  fully  came  up  to 
the  opinion  of  Mansfield  Parkyns,  the  Abyssinian  traveller,  who  assures  us  that 
no  man  knows  what  a  good  beef-steak  is  until  he  has  eaten  it  raw,  before  it  has 
had  time  to  get  cold. 

The  costume  of  the  Innuits  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  climate.  The  win- 
ter dress,  commencing  with  the  feet,  is  thus  composed  :  Long  stockings  of  rein- 
deer skin,  with  tlie  hairy  side  next  to  the  person  ;  socks  of  eider-duck  skin,  with 
the  feathers  on  both  sides,  and  of  seal-skin  with  the  hair  outside ;  boots,  the 
legs  of  reindeer  skin  with  the  hair  outside,  the  soles  of  seal-skin.  The  jacket 
is  of  reindeer  skin,  fitting  rather  loosely ;  those  of  the  women  have  long  tails 
reaching  almost  to  the  ground.  The  ornamentation  of  the  female  dress  de- 
pends on  the  means  and  taste  of  the  wearer.  One  "very  pretty  style,'  men- 
tioned by  Mr.  Hall,  had  a  fringe  of  colored  beads  across  the  neck,  bowls  of 
Britannic-metal  tea-spoons  down  the  front  flap,  and  a  double  row  of  copper 
cents,  surmounted  by  a  small  bell,  dowji  the  tail,  which  was  bordered  by  a 
beading  of  leaden  shot.  The  jacket  has  no  opening  before  or  behind,  but  is 
slipped  on  over  the  head.  The  women's  jacket  has  a  hood  which  serves  a 
variety  of  purposes,  among  others,  that  of  carrying  the  children.  The  breeches 
reach  below  the  knee,  and  are  fastened  by  a  string  drawn  about  the  waist. 
Finger-rings  and  a  head-band  of  bright  brass,  complete  the  fashionable  cos- 
tume. 

Tlie  religious  ideas  of  the  Innuits  are  very  vague.  They  believe  that  there 
is  one  Supreme  Being  who  ci-eated  the  earth,  sea,  and  stars  ;  and  also  a  second- 
ai-y  divinity,  his  daughter,  who  created  all  things  having  life,  whether  animal 
or  vegetable.  She  is  the  tutelary  deity  of  the  Innuits.  They  believe  in  a  heav- 
en and  a  hell,  but  have  no  very  well  defined  ideas  about  them.  According  to 
Tookoolito,  heaven  was  upward  ;  it  is  light  there  all  the  time,  and  there  are  no 
ice  or  storms.  Hell  is  downward ;  no  sun  there,  but  storms  and  snows  all  the 
while ;  it  is  cold,  and  there  is  a  great  deal  of  ice  there.  Any  one  who  has  been 
killed  by  accident  goes  straight  to  heaven.  They  have  a  kind  of  priests,  or 
rather  conjurers,  called  Angekos,  whose  business  is  to  charm  away  sickness, 
and  secure  good  hunting-seasons,  with  an  abundance  of  seals^  walrus,  and  deer, 
and  an  early  disappearance  of  the  ice.  When  his  services  are  called  for,  he  is 
always,  like  a  wise  man,  careful  to  get  hfs  pay  in  advance,  and  it  is  generally 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  HALL   AND   THE  INNLHTS. 


FINDING  THE  DEAD. 


understood  that  the  success  of  his  incantations  depends   greatly  upon  the 
amount  of  his  fee. 

Upon  the  whole,  the  Innuits  must  be  regarded  as  an  amiable  and  kindly 
people.  They  are  exceedingly  tender  parents,  and  not  unaffectionate  husbands 
and  wives.  The  main  exception  to  their  general  kindness  is  their  treatment  of 
the  aged  and  infirm.  When  one,  especially  a  woman,  is  hopelessly  sick  or  in- 
firm, she  is  not  unfrequently  abandoned.  Mr.  Hall  relates  several  incidents  of 
this  kind  which  came  within  his  own  knowledge.  In  one  case  the  husband, 
when  he  found  that  his  wife  was  hopelessly  sick  of  consumption,  abandoned 
her,  and  took  another  while  the  poor  creature  was  still  alive.  The  deserted 
woman  lingered  several  weeks,  supplied  with  food  by  the  neighbors.  In  anoth- 
er case  a  sick  woman,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  was  left  behind  in  an  igloo,  with 
a  small  quantity  of  provisions.  Hall,  learning  of  this,  made  an  attempt  to  go 
to  her  rescue.  But  in  the  mean  time  a  heavy  snow-storm  had  come  on,  and 
the  igloo  was  entirely  buried,  so  that  no  traces  of  it  could  be  found.  A  few 
days  after.  Hall,  accompanied  by  Ebierbing,  made  another  attempt.  The  spot 
was  finally  found,  though  the  snow  lay  level  above  the  ice-hut,  the  position  of 


462  THE  POLAR  WORLD. 

which  could  be  ascertained  only  by  exiDloring  with  their  spears.  They  broke 
through  the  roof,  and,  looking  down,  saw  the  woman  frozen  as  solid  as  a  mar- 
ble statue.  She  had  been  dead  for  days,  and  the  indications  showed  that  she 
had  perished  from  cold  very  soon  after  being  abandoned.  There  were  supplies 
of  whale-skin  for  food,  and  blubber  to  keep  up  the  fire,  but  she  was  too  feeble 
to  rise  from  the  bed  and  replenish  the  lamp. 

The  Innuits  of  the  ])resent  day  are  a  purely  nomadic  race,  roaming  from 
place  to  place,  following  the  seal,  walrus,  and  deer.  But  their  wanderings  ap- 
pear to  be  confined  to  the  region  of  the  coast,  never  extending  far  into  the  in- 
terior. Their  dwellings  are  therefore  constructed  for  mere  temporary  occupa- 
tion, being  snow-huts  {igloos)  for  winter,  and  tents  {tuples)  for  summer.     But 


INNUIT  SUMMER  VILLAGE. 

there  are  indications  in  the  form  of  trenches  and  excavations  which  show  that 
they  formerly  led  a  more  settled  life,  and  constructed  more  permanent  habita- 
tions. Their  nurabei-s  have  been  gradually  diminishing  ever  since  they  have 
come  into  contact  with  the  whites.  How  this  comes  to  pass  is  a  mystery. 
Thei-e  is  nothing  to  show  that  the  climate  has  become  more  rigorous,  or  that 
the  animals  which  constitute  their  food  have  grown  scarcer  or  less  easy  of  cap- 
ture. The  Indians  of  America  have  been  destroyed  by  the  occupation  of  their 
hunting-grounds,  by  whisky,  and  the  small-pox,  introduced  by  the  whites.  The 
natives  of  the  South  Sea  Islands  have  been  eaten  up  by  nameless  diseases,  con- 
tracted from  their  licentious  white  visitors.  There  is  scai'cely  a  trace  of  either 
drunkenness  or  licentiousness  among  the  Innuits.     Consumption  is  the  great 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  HALL  AND   THE   INNUITS. 


463 


ill 


jiiii 


destroyer  among  them ;  but  we  can  see  no  reason  why  this  should  be  more 
prevalent  now  than  it  was  generations  ago. 

It  seems  that  in  former  times  there  were  chiefs  among  the  Innuits,  but  at 
the  present  time  there  is  no  trace  of  any  thing  like  government  among  them. 
In  each  community  there  is  usually  some  one  who,  from  age,  personal  prowess 


464 


THE  POLAR  WORLD. 


OVER    THE    ICE. 


as  a  liuuter,  or  native  shrewdness,  is  looked  up  to  with  respect,  and  his  opinions 
are  regarded  with  deference;  but  he  has.no  sort  o^  authority  except  that  Avhich 
each  person  voluntarily  concedes  to  him. 

We  left  Mr.  Hall  near  the  close  of  January,  1861,  when  he  was  just  return- 
ing to  the  ship  after  his  first  overland  expedition.  We  do  not  propose  to  fol- 
low him  through  the  course  of  his  personal  narrative,  although  it  abounds  witli 
striking  incidents  and  details  of  hardship  and  peril.  Thus,  one  day  in  March, 
John  Brown,  one  of  the  ship's  crew,  in  company  with  two  Innuits,  started  off 
from  an  igloo  a  few  miles  distant  to  rejoin  the  ship.  Somehow  he  got  sepa- 
rated from  his  companions,  but  the  next  morning  he  had  not  arrived.  The  night 
had  been  intensely  cold,  the  thermometer  marking  57  degrees  below  freezing- 
point.  A  party  of  a  dozen  set  off  in  the  attempt  to  find  him.  In  two  hours 
they  came  upon  the  tracks  of  the  wanderer,  but  only  Hall  and  four  others 
could  hold  out ;  the  others,  one  by  one,  fell  back.  They  kept  on,  following  the 
tracks,  which  now  began  to  grow  faint,  being  partly  filled  up  with  snow.  For 
a  time  the  tracks  went  straight  for  the  shig ;  then  they  began  to  Avaver,  now  in 
one  direction,  and  then  in  another,  showing  that  the  man  had  lost  his  way. 
They  followed  the  tracks,  in  the  intense  cold,  60  degrees  below  freezing-point. 
They  were  tormented  by  thirst,  which  they  attempted  to  allay  by  the  use  of 
ice.  The  first  fragment  which  Hall  put  into  his  mouth  froze  it  fast.  He 
managed  to  reduce  the  temperature  of  the  ice  by  holding  the  fragments  in  his 
mittened  hand,  so  that  he  could  place  them  in  his  mouth.  After  six  hours,  IlalFs 
companions  said  they  could  go  no  farther  and  must  return;  for  they  had 
brought  along  no  snow-knife,  with  which  they  could  build  an  igloo  for  the  night ; 
and  if  a  storm  should  spring  up,  they  must  all  be  inevitably  lost.  Hall  went  on 
alone.  One  of  the  crew  named  Johnston  soon  overtook  him,  saying,  "  Brown 
was  my  shipmate,  and  I  loved  him.  I  will  go^  on  with  you.  If  I  were  to  go 
back  now,  I  shall  always  regret  it."  Tliey  followed  the  tracks,  which  now  be- 
"•an  to  run  in  circles,  interlocking  one  another.     There  Avere  twelve  of  these 


CHARLES  FRANCIS   HALL   AND   THE   INNUITS.  4G5 


THE   FROZEN    SAILOK. 


within  less  than  two  miles.  Every  little  while  they  came  upon  places  where 
the  wanderer  had  lain  down  to  rest.  At  five  o'clock,  nine  hours  after  setting 
out,  they  were  overtaken  by  Captain  Buddington,  with  two  sailors  and  two  lu- 
nuits,  accompanied  by  a  dog-team.  They  all  pressed  on  with  renewed  vigor, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  came  upon  poor  Brown,  frozen  dead.  They  could  not  con- 
vey the  corpse  to  the  ship,  fully  ten  miles  away,  and  so  buried  him  in  the  snow 
upon  the  spot  where  he  was  found. 

It  was  the  middle  of  July  befoi-e  the  sli^p  was  released  from  her  icy  prison. 
The  whalers  went  to  work,  and  Hall  made  several  important  expeditions  by 
land  and  water,  living  nearly  all  the  while  with  the  Innuits.  Towards  the 
middle  of  October  the  captain  began  to  prepare  for  returning  home.  But  he 
was  a  few  days  too  late.  The  ship  was  beset  in  the  ice-pack,  with  no  hope  of 
escape.  There  was  nothing  left  but  to  make  up  their  minds  to  spend  another 
winter  in  the  ice. 

We  must  pass  wholly  over  the  incidents  and  adventures  of  this  second  win- 
ter. It  is  the  old  tale  of  suffering  and  privation.  On  the  12th  of  January  the 
thermometer  fell  to  Y2  degrees  below  the  freezing  point.  One  of  the  men  who 
had  left  to  visit  an  Innuit  encampment  came  back,  saying  that  he  thought  he 
had  frozen  his  toe.  Upon  pulling  off  his  boots  both  feet  were  found  to  be 
frozen  stiff,  and  as  hard  as  ice.  The  usual  attempts  to  save  the  members  were 
made  in  vain ;  mortification  began,  and,  to  save  the  man's  life,  the  captain  was 
obliged  to  amputate  portions  of  both  his  feet. 

This  year,  1862,  the  ice  held  on  unusually  late  ;  but  on  the  8th  of  August  it 

30 


4G0 


THE   POLAR   WORLD. 


was  found  that  the  pack  had  broken  up.  The  way  home  was  apparently  open ; 
and  all  hands  were  summoned  on  board.  The  vessel  spread  her  canvas  and 
sailed  off,  the  Innuits  surrounding  her  in  their  canoes,  and  shouting  farewell. 

Tookoolito  and  Ebierbiug  resolved  to  accompany  Hall  to  the  States,  taking 
with  them  Tukeliketa  (""  Butterfly  "),  their  infant,  a  year  old.  The  child  died  a 
few  months  after  their  arrival  in  the  States,  and  lies  buried  in  the  graveyard  at 
Groton,  Connecticut.  "  I  never  saw,"  says  Hall,  "  a  more  animated,  sweet-tem- 
pered, and  engaging  child."  For  days  the  mother  was  delirious ;  then  she 
longed  to  die,  that  she  might  be  with  her  lost  J3utterfly.  Upon  his  grave  were 
laid,  according  to  the  custom  of  his  people,  all  his  childish  playthings.  They 
were  sacred  to  the  dead.  The  mother  went  to  the  grave  one  day,  and  found 
that  one  article,  a  gayly-painted  little  tin  pail,  had  been  taken  away.  She  Avas 
inconsolable.  "  Poor  little  Butterfly,"  she  said,  "  how  he  will  miss  his  beauti- 
ful pail !" 

The  homeward  voyage  was  speedy  and  prosperous.  On  the  13th  of  Septem- 
ber the  "George  Henry"  dropped  anchor  at  New  London,  whence  she  liad 
sailed  two  years  and  three  and  a  half  months  before. 

The  net  results  of  Hall's  expedition  were  these  :  Many  new  discoveries  were 
made  in  Arctic  geography ;  much  information  was  gathered  in  relation  to  the 
inhabitants  ;  and  experience  acquired  of  immense  value  to  all  future  Arctic  ex- 
plorers. Mr,  Hall  also  made  a  very  interesting  discovery  in  regard  to  the  fate 
of  the  expedition  of  Martin  Frobisher,  undertaken  almost  three  centuries  ago. 
He  found  a  tradition  among  the  natives  that  many  years  ago  white  men  in  ships 
had  visited  a  place  still  called  "  White  Man's  Island."  Hall  compared  these  tra- 
ditions with  the  accounts  extant  in  books  respecting  this  voyage,  and  was  struck 
with  their  remarkable  coincidence.  He  visited  the  place  designated  as  the 
white  man's  encampment,  and  found  many  things  which  had  evidently  been  left 
by  Europeans.  Among  these  was  a  heap  of  coal  amounting  to  several  tons,  a 
large  fragment  of  iron,  and  some  bricks.  Every  thing  was  covered  over  with 
moss  whose  thick  growth  showed  that  they  must  have  remained  there  undis- 
turbed for  ages.  ^ 

The  bearing  of  this  upon  the  possibility  of  revealing  the  whole  mystery  of 
the  fate  of  Franklin  is  evident.  If  the  Innuits  have  preserved  tolerably  accu- 
rate traditions  of  what  took  place  three  centuries  ago,  it  is  not  to  be  doubted 
that  they  still  have  information  of  what  took  place  within  a  single  generation. 
It  is  now  past  hoping  that  any  members  of  Franklin's  expedition  are  yet  living ; 
but  there  must  be  Innuits  who  can  tell  how  and  where  they  died. 

To  further  this  investigation  Hall  resolved  upon  a  second  expedition.  He 
spent  nearly  two  years  in  preparing  his  book  for  publication,  and  in  making  pre])- 
arations  for  this  enterprise.  Abundant  facilities  w^ere  now  placed  at  his  dis- 
posal; and  on  the  30th  of  July,  1864,  he  again  set  sail.  In  the  preface  to  his 
book,  written  on  board  the  vessel,  he  says : 

"I  am  persuaded  that  among  the  Innuits  maybe  sought, by  one  competent, 
with  every  chance  of  complete  success,  the  sad  history  of  Sir  John  Franklin's 
men.  To  make  myself  competent  for  this  more  interesting  and  important  re- 
search, I  patiently  acquired  the  language  and  familiarized  myself  with  the  habits 


CHARLES  FRANCIS   HALL   AND   THE   INNUITS. 


467 


of  the  Esquimaux.  I  now  return  to  their  country  able  to  speak  with  them,  to 
live  among  them,  to  support  my  life  in  the  same  manner  that  they  do  theirs ;  to 
migrate  with  them  from  place  to  place,  and  to  traverse  and  patiently  explore  all 
the  region  in  Avhich  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  Franklin's  crew  travelled  aiid 
perished.  I  shall  be  accompanied  by  the  two  intelligent  Esquimaux,  Ebierbing 
and  Tookoolito,  who,  having  accompanied  me  on  my  return  from  my  first  expe- 
dition, and  after  remaining  with  me  for  two  years,  now  go  back  with  me  on  this 
second  voyage.  I  enter  upon  this  undertaking  Avith  the  liveliest  hope  of  suc- 
cess. I  shall  not,  like  previous  explorers,  set  my  foot  on  shore  for  a  few  days 
or  weeks,  or,  like  others,  journey  among  men  whose  language  to  me  is  unintel- 
ligible. I  shall  live  for  two  or  three  years  among  the  Esquimaux,  and  gain  their 
confidence  ;  and  I  have  the  advantage  of  understanding  their  language,  and  of 
making  all  my  wishes  known  to  them." 

It  is  now  (September,  18G9)  more  than  five  years  since  Hall  set  out  on  this 
second  expedition.  Up  to  1867  he  wrote,  as  occasional  opportunity  offered, 
to  his  fast  friend  and  Avarm  supporter,  Henry  Grinnell ;  but  his  letters  gave 
only  faint  indications  of  what  he  had  been  able  to  accomplish.  In  1868,  when 
lie  had  hoped  to  return,  no  whaling-vessels  came  back  to  the  States  from  the 
Arctic  seas.  A  trace  or  two  of  him  has  been  reported  by  English  vessels,  suf- 
ficient, however,  to  afford  reason  to  believe  that  he  still  lives.  An  American 
whaler  expected  to  pass  the  winter  of  1868-9  in  the  region  where  Hall,  if  liv- 
ing would  probably  be,  and  it  is  hoped  that  in  October  of  this  year,  1869,  before 
these  pages  will  be  before  the  reader,  this  vessel,  bearing  the  brave  explorer, 
will  have  reached  the  American  shores. 


FAKJi U  i-l^L    ui     lllL    l.S>.Ul'rS. 


INDEX 


Adelie,  Terre,  discovery  of,  402. 

Agouti,  the,  of  Patagonia,  419. 

Agriculture,  state  of,  in  Iceland,  79. 

Aigun.  treaty  of,  196. 

Air,  remarkable  moisture  of  the,  in  Taimurland, 
225. 

,  its  perpetual  motion  in  the  Arctic  zones,  225. 

Akurig,  eider-ducks  of.  81. 

Albasin,  the  Russian  fort  of,  built,  195. 

,  destroyed  by  the  Chinese,  but  rebuilt,  196. 

Albatross,  wandering,  of  the  Antarctic  seas,  395. 

Alcj'onians  on  the  coasts  of  Greenland,  59. 

Aleutian  Islands,  causes  which  led  to  the  discoverj 
of  the,  201. 

,  extent  of  the,  270. 

Aleuts,  their  wretched  condition  under  their  mas- 
ters, 273. 

■ ,  their  skill  and  intrepidity  in  hunting,  273- 

276. 

Alexander,  Cape,  discover}'  of,  365. 

Island,  discovery  of,  401. 

Algerine  pirates,  ravages  of,  in  Iceland,  95  ;  and  in 
the  Westman  Islands,  119. 

Alaska,  discovery  of,  202. 

,  climate  of  the,  269. 

,  mountains  and  forests  of,  269. 

,  purchase  of,  by  the  Americans,  277. 

,  telegraph  through,  278. 

■ ,  travelling  in,  278-289. 

,  natives  of,  278-289. 

,  climate  of,  284. 

,  food  in,  287. 

Almannagja,  description  of  the,  73. 

Altai  Mountains,  crossed  b}'  the  Cossacks,  195. 

Alten,  copper  mines  of,  128. 

Altenfjord,  vegetation  of  the  borders  of  the,  128. 

America,  North,  treeless  zone  of,  18-22. 

.  character  of  the  Coniferoe  of,  23,  24. 

,  range  of  the  caril)ou,  or  reindeer,  of,  36-39. 

,  the  musk-ox  of,  41. 

,  the  white  dolphin  in  the  rivers  of,  61. 

,  the  black  dolphin  of,  61. 

,  walruses  of  the  shores  of,  64. 

,  history  of  the  fur-trade  of,  307  et  seq. 

■ •,  first  discoverers  and  settlers  of,  335. 

America,  North,  destruction  of  the  Greenland  colo- 
nies, 335. 

,  subsequent  discoveries,  335  et  seq. 

,  attempts  to  discover  the  north-western  pas- 
sage to  India,  342  et  seq. 

America,  Russian,  its  transfer  to  the  United  States, 
272,  note. 

Amooi-,  river,  discover}'  of  the,  by  the  Russians,  who 
relinquish  it  to  the  Chinese,  195,  196. 

,  the  country  annexed  by  Russia,  196. 


Anakerdluk,  in  North  Greenland,  buried  forest  of, 
29. 

Angekoks,  or  priests  of  the  Esquimaux,  301. 

Animals,  comparatively  small  number  of,  in  the 
Arctic  regions,  25. 

■ ,  the  forests  the  head-quarters  of  many,  41. 

■ •  of  the  Arctic  Seas,  59. 

of  the  coasts  of  Spitzbergen,  134. 

,  fur-bearing,  of  Siberia,  209. 

,  the,  of  Taimurland,  227. 

of  Nishne-Kolymsk,  235. 

of  Newfoundland,  378. 

,  no  land,  in  the  Antarctic  region,  394. 

of  Patagonia,  418. 

Aniuj,  vegetation  of  the  valley  of  the,  235. 

,  chief  resource  of  the  people  of  the,  237. 

Anjou,  Lieut.,  his  Arctic  explorations,  233. 

Archangel,  foundation  of,  192. 

,  New,  site  of  the  town  of,  272. 

■ ■,  fur-trade  of,  273. 

,  medium  of  exchange  at,  276. 

Archers,  the  Ostiaks  as,  187. 

Arctic  regions,  rivers  of  the,  17. 

,  limits  of  the,  18. 

,  the  forests  of  the,  18-23. 

,  their  treeless  wastes,  or  Tundra,  18. 

,  in  summer  and  winter,  19. 

,  their  extent  and  boundaries,  21. 

,  animal  life  in  the,  25. 

,  influence  of  the  sea  and  winds  on  the  severity 

of  the  winter  of  the,  27. 

,  the  lowest  temperaturesfelt  by  man,  27,  28. 

,  how  man  becomes  accustomed  to  the  rigors  of 

the  winter  of  the,  28. 

,  proofs  of  a  former  milder  climate  in  the  north- 
ern regions  of  the  globe,  29. 

,  beauties  of  Nature  in  the,  31-33. 

,  land  quadrupeds  and  birds  of  the,  34. 

,  the  seas  of  the,  49. 

compared  with  the  Antarctic  regions,  391. 

Arctic  voyages  of  discovery,  history  of,  335  et  seq. 

Are  Thorgilson,  his  Icelandic  works,  94. 

Argali  {Ovis  arpali)  of  Siberia,  41. 

Arrows  of  the  Ostiaks,  187, 188. 

Ascidians  on  the  coasts  of  Greenland,  59, 

Ash,  the,  in  the  Arctic  regions,  24. 

Asia,  treeless  zone  of,  18-22. 

Athabascan  Indians,  hunting-grounds  of  the,  327. 

AtlassofF,  the  Cossack,  his  treatment  of  the  natives 
of  Kamchatka,  198. 

Atmosphere,  transparency  of  the,  in  the  Polar  re- 
gions, 54,  55. 

,  phenomena  of,  reflection  and  refraction,  and 

.  their  probable  causes,  55. 

Auk,  the  giant,  its  rarity  at  present  in  Iceland,  85. 

Aurora  borealis,  33. 

•,  splendor  of  the,  in  the  Arctic  regions,  33. 


470 


INDEX. 


Aurora  borcalis,  terror  of  the  Lapps  at  the,  157. 

,  at  Niilato,  281. 

Austin,  Captain,  his  search  for  Franklin,  357. 

Avalanches  of  ice  in  Spitzbergen,  135. 

Avvakloit  and  INIyouk,  their  imprisonment  on  an 

iceberg,  '298. 
Awatscha  Hay.  sea-birds  of,  255. 
,  its  magnificence  and  extent,  256. 


Baaty  Khan,  his  subjection  of  Russia,  191. 

Bachelor  river,  the,  412. 

Back  (Mr.,  afterwards  Sir  George),  his  Arctic  voy- 
ages, 346, 347,  349. 

,  his  search  for  Captain  Ross,  354. 

.  his  discovery  of  Great  Fish  River,  355. 

,  voyage  in  1835,  355. 

Back's  river,  discovery  of,  355. 

Badarany,  desert  of  swamps,  the,  234. 

Baer,  Herr  von,  his  scientific  journey  to  Nova 
Zembla,  151. 

Baffin,  his  voyages  of  discovery,  343. 

Baffin's  Bay,  probable  influence  of  the  northerly 
winds  on  the  depression  of  the  temperature  of, 
27. 

BaffinV^i  Bay,  walruses  of  the  coasts  of,  64. 

,  discovery  of,  343. 

Balleny,  his  discoveries  in  the  Antarctic  ocean,  401. 

Islands,  discovery  of,  401. 

Banks's  Land,  proofs  of  a  former  milder  tempera- 
ture in,  29. 

Bards,  or  Scalds,  of  Iceland,  94. 

Barentz,  William,  visit  of,  to  Spitzbergen,  138. 

,  his  voj'ages  of  discovery,  339. 

,  his  winter  in  Nova  Zembla,  340. 

■ ,  his  death,  342. 

Barley,  cultivation  of,  in  Norway,  124. 

Barren  grounds,  barrens,  or  tundri,  Arctic  belt  of 
the,  18. 

,  causes  of  their  barrenness,  18. 

,  their  appearance  in  winter  and  in  summer,  19. 

,  indistinct  and  irregular  boundaries  of  the,  21. 

,  those  of  Newfoundland,  377. 

Barrow  Point,  traffic  of,  302. 

Barter  Reef,  traffic  of,  302. 

Bear,  black,  muskvva  {Ursus  americanus),  value  of 
thefurof  the,  315. 

,  description  of  him,  315,  318. 

.  brown,  of  North  America,  315. 

,  value  of  the  skins  of  the  young  brown  bear, 

211. 

,  grizzly,  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  (Ursiis  fe- 

rox),  315. 

,  his  skin,  315. 

,  the  polar,  bis  mode  of  hunting,  65,  446,  448. 

,  his  favorite  food  and  mode  of  seizing  it,  65, 

447,  450,  451. 

,  anecdote  of  one,  65. 

,  instances  of  his  sagacity,  65. 

,  parental  care  of  the  she- bear,  65. 

,  her  winter  nursery,  65,  66. 

.  her  internal  store  of  food  for  her  hvbeiTiation, 

66. 

,  immense  strength  of  claws  and  teeth.  66,  67. 

,  his  unwelcome  visits  to  Iceland,  81. 

' of  Spitzbergen.  137. 

of  Nova  Zembla,  149. 

— -,  Lapp  mode  of  hunting  the,  164-166. 
,  Esquimau.K  methods  of  liunting  the,  103. 


Bear  of  Newfoundland,  378. 

,  abundance  of,  in  Kamchatka,  258. 

,  sea-,  value  of  the  skins  of  the,  in  China,  .374, 

,  chase  of  the,  in  the  Pribilow  Islands,  274. 

families  and  battles,  274,  275. 

,  the  Austral  sea-,  399. 

,  hunted  by  dogs,  453. 

Bear  Island,  or  Cherie  Island,  account  of,  143. 

,  climate  of,  144. 

,  walruses  of,  144. 

,  boat-vo3'ages  of  Norwegian  sailors  from,  145. 

,  discovery  of,  340. 

,  surveyed  by  the  Russians,  200. 

Beaver  (Cdstor  fiber),  its  skin  the  standard  of  ex- 
change with  the  Canadian  Indians,  313. 

,  former  enormous  trade  in  the  fur  of  the,  317. 

of  Newfoundland,  378. 

Beaver  Indians,  their  hunting-grounds,  327. 
Bee,  sand  (Andrena),  of  Nova  Zembla,  154. 
Beech,  Antarctic  {Fagus  betuloides),  410. 
Beechey,  Captain,  his  voyage  to  Bering's  Straits, 

350. 
Beerenberg  mountain,  146. 

Bering,  Titus,  never  passed  through  the  straits  hear- 
ing ins  name,  197. 

,  his  second  vo3'age,  201. 

,  his  second  voyage  of  discover}',  248,  249. 

,  his  bad  conduct,  250. 

,  his  death,  252. 

Bering  Island,  Bering  and  Steller  on,  251. 

Sea,  description  of  the,  268. 

,  barren  lands  at,  22. 

,  seals  and  walruses  of,  63,  64. 

,  its  climate,  269. 

,  character  of  the  shores  of  the,  270. 

,  animals  of  the,  271. 

Bering's  Straits,  view  of  the  Old  and  New  worlds  in 
the^  271. 

,  Captain  Beechey's  voyage  to,  350. 

Belcher,  Sir  Edward,  his  search  for  Franklin,  359. 

Bellinghausen,  his  discovery  of  the  islands  Paul  the 
First  and  Alexander,  401. 

Bellot,  Lieut.,  his  gallant  search  for  Franklin,  359. 

,  his  death  and  monument,  362. 

Beluga,  or   white  dolphin  (Delphiims   leucas),  de- 
scription of  the,  61. 

,  domain  of  the,  61. 

Beluga  Bay,  visit  of  Von  Baer's  party  to,  151. 

Bennet,  Stephen,  his  visit  to  Bear  Island,  143,  144. 

Berry-gathering  in  Nishne-Kolymsk,  238. 

Bilberries  of  the  Arctic  regions,  24. 

Billings,  voyage  of,  on  the  coast  of  Siberia.  201. 

Birch,  paper,  value  of  the,  in  North  America,  304. 

Birch-trees  in  the  Arctic  regions,  24. 

Birds,  flights  of  wild,  in  summer  months,  in  the 
Tundra,  19. 

,  their  migrations  to  and  from  hiyh  latitude?, 

43,  44,  67. 

,  the  polar  singing-bird,  the  snow-bunting,  43. 

,  raptorial,  of  the  Arctic  regions,  43. 

,  enormous  numbers  of,  along  the  Arctic  shores, 

67. 

,  Icelandic,  81. 

of  the  coast  of  Norway,  124. 

of  Spitzbergen,  13.3,  134, 137. 

of  Nova  Zeml)la,  154. 

,  a  bird  bazar,  154. 

,  abundance  of  sea-fowl  on  the  coast  of  Kam- 
chatka, 255. 

,  Esquimaux  mode  of  bird-catching,  295. 

abundance. of,  on  the  coast  of  Greenland,  38'8. 


INDEX. 


471 


Birds  of  the  coasts  of  the  Antarctic  sea,  394. 

of  Patagonia,  419. 

Birkarls,  their  final  subjugation  of  the  Lapps,  156. 

Biscoe,  his  discovery  of  Enderby  Land,  and  of  Gra- 
ham. Land,  401. 

Black  death,  ravages  of  the,  in  the  North,  383. 

Blackfeet  Indians,  their  wars  with  the  Tinne  and 
Crees,  319,  320. 

Bloody  Falls,  on  the  Coppeimine  river,  294. 

Boats  of  the  Esquimaux,  293. 

,  the  birch-bark  canoes  of  North  America,  304. 

Bogbcrries  of  the  Arctic  regions,  24. 

Booth,  Sir  Felix,  his  Arctic  expedition,  251. 

Bougainville,  his  voyage  through  the  Strait  of  Ma- 
gellan, 414. 

Brandt,  the  Danish  forester,  his  journey  with  Von 
Middendorflf,  220. 

Brand}-,  fondness  of  the  Samoiedes  for,  171-173. 

drunk  at  Kolymsk,  238. 

Brant  Ysbrantzoun,  his  voyages  of  discovery,  339. 

Bread  of  the  ^oor  Icelanders,  79. 

Bredal,  Eric,  his  education  of  Lapps  in  Christianitv, 
156. 

Bridges,  swing,  of  Iceland,  111. 

Browne,  T.  Ross,  74,  95, 104, 115. 

Biichan,  Captain,  his  Arctic  voyage,  344; 

Bunting,  its  migrations  to  and  from  the  north,  43. 

,  the  Lapland  {Centvophanes  Lapponicus\  lati- 
tudes inhabited  by  the,  43,  44. 

Bunting,  the  snow,  the  polar  singing-bird,  44. 

Bunting,  its  nest  and  food,  44. 

of  Iceland,  81. 

of  Spitzbergen,  137. 

Burglars,  treatment  of,  in  Russia,  206. 

Burrough,  Stephen,  his  voyage  to  discover  the 
north-eastern  passage,  330. 

Busa,  Jelissei,  his  ascent  of  the  rivers  Lena  and 
Olekma,  195. 

,  his  discovery  of  the  Tana,  195. 

,  his  residence  among  the  Jul<ahirs,  195. 

Butter  madeTrom  the  reindeer  milk,  36. 

Butterflies  in  Taimurland,  227. 

Byroii,  Commodore,  his  voyage  through  the  Strait 
of  Magellan,  414. 


Cabot,  John  and  Sebastian,  tbeir  re-discovery  of 
parts  of  North  America,  335. 

,  their  re-discovery  of  Newfoundland,  379. 

Canada,  enterprise  of  the  French  settlers  in,  3<^6. 

,  results  of  the  English  conquest  of,  306. 

,  histor}'  of  the  fur-tradu  of,  307. 

Cano,  Sebastian  el,  his  voyage  round  the  globe,  413. 

Canoes,  birch-bark,  of  North  America,  304,  305. 

Cape,  North,  description  of  the,  129,  130. 

Caribou,  or  reindeer  of  North  America,  range  of 
the,  36. 

Carrancha,  the,  of  Patagonia,  419,  420. 

Cartier,  Jacques,  his  voyages,  .335. 

Caryophyllffi,  the,  of  the  treeless  zone,  21. 

Cascades  of  Iceland,  78. 

Castor  and  Pollux  river,  discovery  of,  356. 

Caslren,  Matthias  Alexander,  account  of  him  and 
of  his  journeys,  168-178. 

Catherine's  Foreland,  Queen,  409. 

Cattle,  value  of,  to  the  Icelands,  80. 

Cavendish,  his  voyages,  414. 

Chancellor,  his  discovery  of  the  passage  from  Eng- 
land to  the  White  Sea,  192, 


Chancellor,  his  voyage  to  discover  the  north-eastern 
route  to  China,  336. 

,  his  visit  to  Moscow,  and  subsequent  fate,  336. 

Charles  IX.,  King  of  Sweden,  his  kindness  to  the 
Lapps,  156. 

Chatanga  river,  scanty  population  of  the,  220. 

,  Middendorft's  journey  to  the,  220,  221. 

Chatangsk,  Middendorffs  journe}'  to,  221 

Cheese  made  from  reindeer  milk,  36. 

Cherie  Island,  account  of,  144. 

Chess-players  of  the  Tungusi,  246. 

Chickweed,  the,  on  the  Mary  Minturn  river,  20. 

Chimengo,  the,  of  Patagonia,  419. 

China,  Castren's  journey  over  the  mountains  into, 
177. 

Chinese  take  the  Russian  fort  of  Albasin,  195 ;  and 
make  the  treaty  of  Nertschinsk  with  the  Rus- 
sians, 196. 

,  the  treaty  broken  by  the  Russians,  who  com- 
pel the  Chinese  to  give  them  the  Amoor,  190. 

Cliinga  {Mephitis  chiriffn),  its  fcctid  secretion,  316. 

Christian  IV.,  King  of  Denmark,  his  treatment  of 
the  Lapp  priests  and  sorcerers,  156. 

,  his  expedition  to  Greenland,  383. 

Christianity,  introduction  of,  into  Iceland,  92. 

Churches  of  the  Icelanders,  104. 

Clavering,  his  voj'age  to  Greenland,  386. 

Cleray  of  the  Lapps,  their  povertv  and  self-denial, 
157. 

,  their  sermons,  157. 

,  those  of  Iceland  all  l)laeksmiths,  101,  notr,  106. 

,  their  poverty,  106. 

Coal,  does  not  exist  in  Iceland,  88. 

of  Spitzbergen,  137. 

in  Coal  Bav,  14iJ. 

Coal  Bay,  145.  " 

Coclilearia  fenestrata,  the  only  esculent  plant  in 
Spitzbergen,  136, 142. 

Cod  and  cod-fishing  of  the  coast  of  Iceland,  86,  87. 

,  the,  called  stockfish,  87. 

,  the  cod-fishery  of  Norway,  125-130. 

,  wretched  state  of  the  fi-hermen,  127. 

,  exports  of,  to  various  countries,  129. 

,  cod-fishery  of  Greenland,  388. 

,  value  of  the  cod-fishery  of  Newfoundland, 

379,  380. 

,  mode  of  fishing  and  curing  the  cod,  380. 

,  dangers  of  the  fisher}',  381. 

,  immense  numbers  of,  381. 

Cod-liver  oil  of  Tromso,  128. 

Collinson,  Captain,  his  search  for  Franklin,  859, 
361. 

Commodore  Islands,  chase  of  the  sea-bear  on  the, 
274. 

Condor,  the,  of  Patagonia,  420. 

Conifera;,  Arctic  forests  almost  confined  to  the,  24. 

;  difterence  between  the  European  and  Asiatic 

and  American  species,  24. 

Constitution,  Cape,  discover}'  of,  369. 

Cook,  his  attempt  to  discover  the  northwest  pas- 
sage, 344. 

Cook,  Captain,  his  discover}' of  South  Georgia,  393. 

,  his  Antarctic  voyages,  401. 

Copper  mines  near  Drontheim,  124. 

of  Alten,  128. 

of  Raipass,  128. 

Coppermine  river.  Dr.  Richardson's  voyage  to  the, 
349. 

Cornelius  Ryp,  his  voyages  of  discover}',  340,  341. 

Cornelius  Corneliszoon,  his  voyages  of  discovery. 


472 


INDEX. 


CorniculariiT!,  carpets  of,  and  the  treeless  /one,  21. 
Cortereal,  liis  voyages  of  discovery,  3"25. 
Cossacks,  Don,  their  depredations,  192. 

,  their  conquest  of  Siberia  for  the  Czar,  19.^. 

,  their  privileges  and  duties   in  Nishne-Ko- 

lymsk,  236. 
Coureur  des  bois,  the,  of  North  America,  304. 
Cranberries  of  the  Arctic  regions,  24. 
Cree  Indians,  uses  of  the  paper-birch- tree  to  the, 

305. 

,  range  of"  the  various  tribes  of,  319. 

,  their  conquests  of  the  Tinne,  but  subsequent 

defeat,  319,  320. 

,  their  wars  with  the  Blackfeet,  320,  321 

,  their  character,  321. 

,  their   customs,  habits,  and    dress,  321,  322, 

323. 

,  their  wives  and  families,  323. 

,  their  cradles,  323. 

,  their  wigwams,  or  tents,  324. 

— — ,  their  medicine-men  and  vapor-baths,  324. 

,  their  games  and  sports,  324,  325. 

-,  their  wooden  figures  for  worship,  325. 

,  their  malicious  or  capricious    spirit,  called 

Kepoochican,  325. 
,  their  notion  of  the  Great  Spirit  and  of  the 

Deluge,  325. 

,  their  Tartarus  and  Elysium,  325. 

,  prospects  of  Christianity  amongst  them,  326. 

Cross,  the  game  of,  of  the  Cree  Indians,  325. 
Crowe,  Mr.,  his  copper  mines  at  Alten,  128. 
Crozier,  Captain,  his  last  voyage,  3561 

,  the  last  heard  of  him,  364. 

,  his  Antarctic  voyages,  402. 

Cruciferje,  the,  of  the  treeless  zone,  20. 
Crustaceans,  immense  numbers  of,  on  the  coast  of 

Greenland,  59. 
Cumberland  Strait,  Davis's  discovery  of,  337,  338. 
Currents,  magnificent  .system  of,  and  their  effects 

on  the  accumulation  of  ice,  56,  57. 


D. 


Dances  of  the  Tchuktchi,  266. 

Darwin,  j\Ir.,  his  ascent  of  Mount  Tarn,  411. 

Davis,  John,  his  voyages  to  discover  an  Arctic  pas- 
sage to  India,  337. 

■ ,  his  visit  to  Labrador,  338. 

,  his  subsequent  life,  338. 

Davis's  Straits,  probable  influence  of  the  northerly 
winds  on  the  depression  of  the  temperature  of, 
27. 

,  Sebastian  Cabot's  discovery  of,  3.55. 

Dead,  reverence  paid  to  the,  by  the  Samoiedes,  181. 

Dease,  Peter  Warren,  his  land  Arctic  expedition, 
355. 

Death,  black,  its  ravages  in  Iceland,  95. 

Deception  Island,  account  of,  393. 

Deer,  red  {Cervus  elepkas),  its  habitat  and  uses  to 
man,  40. 

Deer  of  Vogelsang  and  Treurenberg  Bay,  137. 

Deluge,  Cree  legend  of  the,  325. 

Demidofi;  foundation  of  the  family  of,  219. 

,  their  enormous  wealth,  219. 

Deschnew,  Semen,  his  the  first  and  last  voyage 
through  Bering's  Strait,  197. 

Desolation,  South,  412. 

Detti-foss,  an  Icelandic  cascade,  Mr.  Gould's  de- 
scription of  the,  78. 

Disco  bav,  icebergs  formed  in,  49. 


Divers,  their  migrations  to  and  from  the  north,  42. 
Dog-rib  Indians,  hunting-grounds  of  the,  327. 

,  their  character,  dress,  and  customs,  327,  329. 

,  their  want  of  hospitality,  329. 

,  their  honesty,  329. 

,  their  notions  of  a  future  life,  329, 

Dog,  the  reindeer  of  the  Lapps,  161. 

,  Wrangell's  dog-sledges   on    the  Polar   sea, 

239. 

,  Icelandic,  80. 

,  the,  of  the  people  of  Kolymsk,  236. 

,  the  Kamchatkan,  and  dog-sledges,  258,  259. 

,  their  mode  of  foretelling  storms,  259. 

■,  mode  of  training  sledge-dogs,  259. 

,  trained  bv  Esquimaux  to  attack  the  bear, 

297. 

,  description  of  the.  and  dog-sledges  of  the  Es- 

imaux,  299. 

qu.  Dr.  Kane's  Newfoundland  and  Esquimaux, 

367. 

,  epidemic  amongst  the  Esquimaux,  372. 

Dolgorouky,  Prince,  his  exile  to  Siberia,  205. 
Dolphin,  white,  or  beluga,  of  Nova  Zenibla,  155. 

,  Greenland  fishery  of  the,  387. 

Dolphins  of  the  Polar  seas,  61,  398. 

,  the  beluga,  or  white  dolphin,  61. 

,  the  black  dolphin,  "  ca'ing  "  whale,  or  grind, 

61. 

,  the  ore,  or  grampus,  62. 

of  Spitzbergen,  137. 

Drake,  Sir  Francis,  his  voyage  through  the  Strait 

of  Magellan,  414. 
Drifanda  Foss,  an  Icelandic  cascade,  114. 
Drontheim,  the  red  deer  near,  40. 

,  description  of,  124. 

Ducks,  wild,  of  the  Arctic  regions,  19. 

,  their  migrations  to  and  from  the  north,  42. 

of  Iceland,  81,  84. 

Dudinka,  Castren's  visit  to,  176. 

Dungeness,  Point,  409. 

Durfoorth,  his  voj'age  and  death,  336. 

D'Urville,  Dumont,  his  discoveries  in  the  Antarctic 

ocean,  402. 
Dutch,  their  expeditions  to  discover  an  Arctic  pas- 
sage to  India,  339. 


Eagle,  the  sea-  (flalicetus  albiciUa),  of  the  north, 
44. 

,  his  food,  44. 

,  white-tailed,  of  Iceland,  85. 

,  value  of  the  skins  of  the,  85. 

,  the,  on  the  coast  of  Norway,  125. 

,  in  the  Tundra  in  summer,  19. 

Ebierbing,  441,  466. 

Egede,  Hans,  his  voyage  to  Greenland,  384. 

Egg-vare  of  the  coast  of  Norway,  124. 

Egilson,  Olaf,  the  Westman  clergyman,  his  slavery 
in  Algiers,  118. 

Eider-duck,  its  migrations  to  dnd  from  the  north, 
43. 

of  Iceland,  81. 

,  breeding  of,  83. 

,  Mr.  Shepherd's  visit  to  one  of  its  head-quar- 
ters, 83. 

Elder,  the,  in  the  Arctic  regions,  24. 

Elephant,  sea-,  of  the  Antarctic  ocean,  399. 

Elk,  or  moose  deer-,  of  the  forests  of  the  north,  38. 

,  Ca3sar's  account  of  it,  39. 

.  its  food  and  present  habitat,  40. 


INDEX. 


47f 


Elk,  its  mode  of  defending  itself,  40. 

Euara,  Lake  of,  the  Fisher  Lapps  of,  166. 

,  description  of  the,  169. 

Enderby  Land,  discovery  of,  401. 

English  pirates,  ravages  of,  in  Iceland,  95. 

Erebus,  mount,  eruption  of,  403. 

Eric  the  Red,  his  visit  to  Greenland,  382. 

Ermine  {Mustela  erminea)  beauty  and  importance 
of  the  fur  of  the,  210. 

,  those  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territory,  316. 

Esk,  volcano,  146. 

Esquimaux  (see  also  Innuits),  their  wide  extension, 
290. 

,  their  own  name  of  Innuit,  290. 

,  character  of  the  regions  they  inhabit,  290. 

,  their  physical  character,  habits,  and  man- 
ners, 290,  291. 

women,  291. 

,  their  dress  and  snow-huts,  291,  292. 

,  their  boat,  the  kayak  or  baidar,  293.  y 

,  their  weapons,  and  fishing  and  hunting  im- 
plements, 293,  294. 

,  enmity  between  them  and  the  Red  Indians, 

294. 

,  their  chase  of  the  reindeer,  and  bird-catching, 

295.     - 

,  their  whale  and  seal  hunts,  295.  296. 

,  their  "  keep  kuttuk,"  296. 

,  their  bear  and  walrus  hunts,  296,  298. 

• ,  their  dogs  and  dog-sleilges,  299. 

■ ,  their  games  and  sports,  300. 

,  constitution  of  their  society,  300. 

,  their  angekoks,  or  priests,  300,  301. 

• ,  their  moral  character,  self-reliance,  and  in- 
telligence, 301,  302. 

,  their  maps,  and  predilection  for  commercial 

pursuits,  302. 

,  their  voracity,  and  seasons  of  abundance  and 

distress,  302,  303. 

,  their  depots  of  food,  302,  303. 

,  their  wars  with  the  Kutchin  Indians,  333. 

. ,  their  attack  of  Franklin's  boats,  349. 

,  their  hunting  expeditions  with  Dr.  Kane's 

party,  370. 

■ ,  their  ravages  on  the  Greenland  coast,  383. 

Europe,  treeless  zone  of,  18-24. 

Evil  Spirit  of  the  woods  of  the  Laplanders,  157. 

Exiles,  Siberian,  204,  205. 

• ,  annual  number  of,  206. 

Eyjafialla,  eruption  of,  in  1821,  96. 

Evstein,  King,  his  benevolence,  126. 


F. 


Faeroe  Islands,  chase  of  the  black  dolphin,  or 
"  ca'ing"  whale,  in  the,  61. 

Falkland'^Islands,  climate  of,  394. 

Famine,  Port,  rich  vegetation  of,  410,  414. 

Festuca  of  the  Arctic  regions,  20. 

Finback  whales  of  Spitzliergen,  137. 

Finches  in  the  Tundra  in  summer,  19. 

Finmark,  trade  and  fisheries  of  the  coast  of,  129. 

Finnur  Johnson,  the  Icelander,  his  "  Ecclesiastic.il 
History  of  Iceland,"  98. 

Fir,  different  species  of,  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  Amer- 
ica, 24. 

Fish,  and  fishing  season  of  Iceland,  86. 

,  abundance  of,  in  Kamchatka,  255. 

of  Newfoundland,  379. 

of  Greenland,  387. 


Fish  river.  Great,  Back's  discovery  of,  355. 

Fisher  Lapps,  account  of  the,  166. 

Fiskernasset,  cod-fishery  of,  .388. 

Fitzroy,  Captain,  his  surveys  of  Patagonia  and 
Tierra  del  Fuego,  415. 

FjiiU  Lappars,  or  Mountain  Lapps,  account  of  the. 
159. 

Flatej',  eider-ducks  of,  81, 82. 

Flat-fish,  abundance  of,  on  the  coasts  of  Iceland,  87. 

Floki,  the  Viking,  his  visit  to  Iceland,  90. 

Flora  of  Spitzbergen,  136. 

Flowers  of  tiie  Arctic  regions,  20. 

of  the  island  of  St  Lawrence,  271. 

of  Taimurland,  226. 

of  Unalaschka,  269. 

Fogs  of  the  Arctic  seas  in  summer,  54. 

near  the  island  of  St.  Lawrence,  270. 

off  Newfoundland,  380. 

Food,  amount  of,  required  by  man  in  the  Arctic  re- 
•  gions,  28. 

Forest  regions,  Arctic,  18. 

,  extent  of  the,  22. 

,  character  of  the  trees  of  the,  24. 

,  distinctive  character  of  the  forests,  25. 

,  characters  of  the  Arctic  forests  of  the  Miocene 

period,  28,  29. 

,  legions  of  gnats  in  the,  25. 

-,  changes  being  effected  by  the  agency  of  man, 

25. 

Forests,  the,  head-quarters  of  many  of  the  Arctic 
fauna,  41. 

,  more  in  than  abovethe  earth  inNovaZembla, 

153. 

of  Newfoundland,  376. 

Forget-me-not  found  in  Nova  Zembla,  153. 

Forster,  Captain,  his  expedition  to  the  Antarctic 
sea,  393. 

Fossils,  Arctic,  in  New  Siberia,  203. 

Foulke,  Port,  Dr.  Hayes's  winter  at,  372. 

Fox,  the  Arctic  {Canis  lagopus),  its  mode  of  protect- 
ing itself  from  the  most  intense  cold,  42. 

Fox,  the  Arctic,  its  food  and  enemies,  42. 

of  Spitzbergen,  137. 

in  Nova  Zembla,  154. 

found  in  Taimurland,  227. 

of  Newfoundland,  378. 

,  black,  of  Siberia,  value  of  the  fur  of  the,  211. 

,  the  Brazilian  (Cctwi's  Azarqi),  of  Patagonia. 

419. 

,  red  {Vulpes  fulvus),  the,  211,  317. 

,  value  of  the  fur  of  the,  317. 

Fox  Islands,  discovery  of  the,  201. 

France,  right  of  the  people  of,  to  fish  on  the  banks 
of  Newfoundland,  379. 

Franklin,  Lieut,  (afterwards  Sir  John),  his  first 
Arctic  voyage,  344. 

,  his  first  land  journey,  346. 

.  his  second  land  journey  to  the  shores  of  the 

Polar  sea,  349. 

,  loss  of  his  first  wife,  350. 

,  his  last  voj'age,  356. 

,  searching  expeditions  sent  for  him,  356. 

,  his  fate  and  that  of  his  companions,  362-364. 

Franklin  Island,  discover}'  of,  403. 

Eraser  river,  voyage  of  Mackenzie  down  the,  308. 

Frederick  II.,  King  of  Denmark,  his  expedition  to 
Greenland,  383. 

Frederick  IV.,  his  foundation  of  the  Finmark  mis- 
sion, 156. 

Friedrich.  the  Saxon  bishop,  introduces  Christiani- 
ty into  Iceland,  92, 


474 


INDEX. 


Fritillaria  Sarrana,  used  as  food  in  Kamchatka,  258. 
Frobisher,  Jlartin,  his  endeavors   to   discover   an 

Arctic  passage  to  India,  337. 

,  discovery  of  relics  of,  466. 

,  his  subsequent  career,  337. 

Froward,  Cape,  scenery  of,  410. 
Frozen  sailor,  464. 
Fruits  of  the  Arctic  regions,  24. 
Fuego,  Tierra  del,  climate  of,  393. 

,  origin  of  the  name,  413. 

,  Captain  Fitzroj'^s  survey  of,  415. 

,  account  of  the  Fuegians,  425. 

,  degradation  of  the  Fuegians,  425,  426. 

,  their  powers  as  mimics,  426. 

,  their  notions  of  trade,  427. 

,  causes  of  their  low  state  of  civilization,  427. 

,  their  food,  428. 

,  their  dress,  huts,  arms,  and  ornaments,  428, 

429. 

,  their  cannibalism,  430. 

,  their  language,  430. 

,  Captain  Fitzroy's  three  Fuegians,  430,  431. 

— — ,  missionary  labors,  431. 

,  Captain  Gardiner,  431. 

Fuel,  kinds  of,  used  in  Iceland,  89. 

Fur,  account  of  the  Russian  Fur  Company,  and  its 

operations,  272. 
,  account  of  the  fur-trade  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 

Company,  304  et  seq. 

,  trade  in,  at  the  fair  of  Obdorsk,  189. 

of  Siberia,  208. 

,  importance  of  the  trade  in,  212. 

of  the  Tchuktchi,  264. 


Gabriel  Channel,  williwaws  of,  412. 

Gadflies  which  attack  the  reindeer,  38. 

Galictis  vittata,  the,  of  Patagonia,  418. 

Gambling  of  the  Cree  Indians,  324. 

Gardar,  the  northern  pirate,  his  the  first  circum- 
navigation of  Iceland,  90. 

Gardar's  Holm,  or  Gadar's  Island,  Iceland  so  called, 
90. 

Gardiner,  Captain,  his  mission  to  Fuegia,  and  mel- 
ancholy end.  431. 

Gawrilow,  produce  of  the  gold  mine  of,  218. 

Geese,  wild,  of  the  Arctic  legions,  19. 

,  snow,  their  migrations  to  and  from  the  jiorth, 

43. 

of  Iceland,  81. 

"George  Henry,"  the  ship.  436. 

George,  St.,  climate  of  the  island  of,  270. 

,  sea-lions  and  guillemots  of,  271. 

Georgia,  South,  discover^'  of,  393. 

Germany,  the  elk  or  moose-deer  of,  in  the  time  of 
Cfesar,  39. 

Geysir,  the  Great,  description  of  the,  71. 

Gheritz,  Dirck,  his  discovery  of  the  New  Shetland 
Islands,  392. 

Gilbert,  Sir  Humphrey,  takes  possession  of  New- 
foundland, .379. 

Ginklofi,  or  children's  disease,  in  the  Westman 
Islands,  118. 

Gissur,  his  work  on  his  voyages  to  the  East,  94. 

,  the  Icelander,  his  loarning  and  travels,  98. 

Gjas,  or  chasms,  in  Iceland,  76,  77. 

Glacier,  the  great,  in  the  Gulf  of  Fenas,  394. 

Glaciers,  enormous  dimensions  of  the,  of  the  polar 
regions,  50. 


Glaciers  of  Magdalena  Bay,  135  ;  ice  cliffs  and  ava- 
lanches of,  135. 

of  the  Beerenberg  mountain,  146. 

Glottoff,  Stephen,  his  discovery  of  Kadiak,  202. 

Gloves,  reindeer,  of  Tornea,  37. 

Glutton,  or  wolverine,  strength  and  fierceness  of 

the,  37. 
Glutton,  its  attack  of  the  reindeer,  37,  38. 

,  its  voracity,  38. 

,  found  in  Taimurland,  227. 

,  those  of  North  America,  316. 

,  value  and  uses  of  the  fur  of  the,  316. 

Gnats,  legions  of,  in  the  forests  and  swamps,  26. 
Goda-foss.  the,  an  Icelandic  cascade,  78. 
Gold  diggings  of  Eastern  Siberia,  208. 

! ,  description  of  the  gold-fields,  214. 

I  Gomez,  his  voyages  of  discovery,  335. 

Goose,  bean  (^Anser  segetuni),  of  Nova  Zembla,  155. 
i  Goose,  Brent,  its  migrations  to  and  from  tlie  north, 

43. 
I ,  its  rapid  flight,  43. 

Graah,  Captain,  bis  explorations  of  the   coast   of 
Greenland,  386. 

Graham  Land,  discovery  of,  401. 

Grampus,  or  ore  (^Delphinus  orca),  description  of 
the,  62. 

,  his  ferocity  and  mode  of  ploughing  the  seas, 

(52. 

of  Nova  Zembla,  155. 

of  the  Antarctic  Ocean,  398. 

• ,  conflict  of  one  with  a  whale,  398. 

Grasses,  tufted,  of  the  Arctic  regions,  20. 

of  the  treeless  zone,  21. 

,  paramount  importance  of  the  grasses  in  Ice- 
land, 79. 

of  Taimurland,  226. 

Greenland,  vast  ice-fields  of,  27. 

,  proofs  of  a  former  milder  climate  in,  29. 

,  enormous  dimensions  of  the  glaciers  of,  50. 

,  the,  whale,  60. 

,  transparency  of  the  water  on  the  coast  of,  59. 

,  abundance  of  animal  life  in  the  seas  of,  GO. 

,  walruses  of  the  coasts  of  the  north  of,  64. 

,  Kane's  sledge  journey  along  the  coast  of,  367. 

• ,  unknown  extent  of,  382. 

,  ancient  Scandinavian  colonists  of,  382. 

,  the  name  of,  given  to  it,  382. 

,  introduction  of  Christianity  in,  382. 

,  decline  and  fall  of  the  country,  383. 

.  subsequent  explorations  of,  383. 

,  Hans  Egede,  tlie  pastor,  his  voyage  to,  384. 

,  foundation  of  Godthaab  in,  384. 

,  arrival  of  Herrenhuth  missionaries  in,  384. 

,  explorations  of  the  coast  of,  385.. 

,  present  Danish  settlements  of,  386. 

,  scantv  population  of,  386. 

,  mode'of  life  of  the  people  of,  386,  387,  389. 

,  fisheries  of,  388. 

^ ,  poorness  of  the  land  in,  388. 

,  quantities  of  drift-wood  at,  388. 

,  minerals  of,  389. 

,  Christianity  in,  389. 

.  climate,  mountains,  and  fjords  of,  389. 

,  ice-caves  of  the  coast  of,  390. 

,  the  capital  of,  4.37. 

Grecnlanders,  their  discovery  of,   and  colonies  in 
America,  335. 

,  destruction  of  their  colonies,  335. 

,  their  habits,  437. 

Greitfenfeld,  his  imprisonment  in  Munkholm,  124. 

Grinds.      See  Dolphins,  black. 


INDEX. 


475 


Grinnell  Land,  vegetation  of,  20. 

,  Dr.  Hayes's  discoveries  in,  372-374, 

Guanaco,  the,  of  Patagonia,  419. 

Guano,  circumstances  wliicli  favor  the  deposit  of, 

418. 
Guillemot,  on  the  Pribilow  Islands,  271. 
Gulf  Stream,  influence  of,  on  the  south  and  west 

coasts  of  Iceland,  79 ;     and  on   the  climate  of 

Norway,  121. 
Gull,  Ross's,  distance  north  at  which  it  has  been 

seen,  67. 
Gull,  ivory,  in  Taimurland,  227. 
Gustavus  I.,  King  of  Sweden,  his  kind  treatment 

of  the  Lapps,  156. 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  his  foundation  of  a  school  for 

the  Lapps,  156. 


H. 


Haddocks,  abundance  of,  on  the  coast  of  Iceland, 
87. 

Hakon,  King  of  Norway,  his  annexation  of  Iceland, 
95. 

Hall,  Charles  Francis,  his  Arctic  expedition,  433- 
467. 

■,  James,  his  voj'age  to  Greenland,  883. 

Hamnierfest,  description  of  the  town  of,  129. 

,  traffic  of,  129. 

,  the  people  of,  129. 

,  cargoes  of  walruses  and  seals  brought  from 

Spitzbergen,  143. 

Hare,  the  fur  of  the,  of  Siberia,  212. 

,.  ice  (Lepus  glacialis),  317. 

found  in  Taimurland,  227. 

Hare  Indians,  hunting-gi-ounds  of  the,  327. 

,  their  women,  328. 

Haiold  Haafager,  or  the  Fair-haired,  his  establish- 
ment of  an  absolute  monarchy  in  Norway,  [0. 

,  exodus  caused  by  his  tyranny,  91. 

Harp-seal  of  the  Polar  seas,  62. 

Hatherton,  Cape,  discovery  of,  365. 

Haven,  Lieut,  de,  his  search  for  Franklin,  357,  358. 

Hawks  in  the  Tundra,  in  summer,  19. 

Haves,  Dr.,  his  sledge  journey  over  Kennedy  Chan- 
nel, 368. 

,  his  Arctic  voyage  in  1860,  372-374. 

,  his  opinion  as  to  what  may  be  done  in  the 

Arctic  regions,  374. 

Hecla,  eruptions  of,  since  the  colonization  of  Ice- 
land, 95-97. 

"Hecla"  and  "Fury"  Straits,  discovery  of,  348. 

Heemskerk,  his  voyages  of  discovery,  340. 

Heineson,  Mogens,  the  "sea-cock,"  his  voyage  to- 
wards Greenland,  383. 

Hepburn,  John,  the  bailor,  his  overland  journey, 
346. 

Herald  Island,  discovery  of,  360. 

Heimaey,  or  Home  Island,  description  of,  11 G. 

Herring,  the  fishery  of  the  coast  of  Norway,  125. 

,  food  for  the  rorqual,  or  fin-whales,  61. 

,  abundance  of  the,  on  the  coasts  of  Iceland, 

87. 

Ilesperis,  the,  on  the  Mary  Minturn  river,  20. 

Hildringen,  agriculture  of,  124. 

Hobson,  Lieut.,  his  search  for  Franklin,  362,  364. 

Holme,  the,  of  Norway,  124. 

Hood,  Robert,  his  Arctic  journey,  346. 

,  murdered,  347. 

Horn,  Cape,  discover^'  of  the  passage  round,  414. 

Horse,  the,  in  Iceland,  80. 

of  the  Jakuts,  230-232. 


Hrafnagja,  75. 

Hudson,  Henry,  visit  of,  to  Spitzbergen,  138. 

,  his  the  first  attempt  to  sail  across  the  North 

Pole,  342. 

,  his  subsequent  voyages  and  discoveries,  342. 

,  his  melancholy  end,  343. 

Hudson's  Bay,  barren  lands  of,  22. 

,  characters  of  the  ConiferiB  of,  24. 

,  walruses  of  the  coasts  of,  64. 

,  discovery  of,  312. 

Hudson's  Bay  Company,  account  of  the  fur-trade 

of  the,  304' 
■ ,  the  old  coureur  des  bois  and  the  modern  voy- 

ageur  of,  304,  305. 

,  history  of  the,  307. 

,  formation  of  a  rival  company,  and  subsequent 

amalgamation  of  the  two,  307-310. 

,  palmy  days  of  tlie,  310. 

,  its  reconstruction  in  1863,  310. 

,  its  trading-posts,  and  their  management,  310, 

311. 

— ,  its  eflforts  to  civilize  the  native  tribes,  312. 

,  the  standard  of  exchange,  the  beaver-skin, 

313. 

,  extent  of  the  fur-trade  of,  313. 

,  account  of  the  fur-bearing  animals  of  the 

Territory,  313,  314. 
Hudson  river,  discovery  of  the,  342. 
Hudson's   Straits,  Sebastian  Cabot's  discovery  of, 

335. 
Humboldt  Glacier,  the  Great,  50. 

,  Kane's  description  of  the,  367. 

Humming-bird  on  the  peninsula  of  Aliaska,  269. 

in  Newfoundland,  378. 

of  Patagonia,  420. 

Huts  of  the  Esquimaux,  293. 

of  the  Icelanders,  102. 

Hvalo,  island  of,  129. 
Hvita  river,  in  Iceland,  78. 


Ice,  vast  fields  of,  in  the  plateaus  of  Spitzbergen, 

Greenland,  and  Nova  Zembla,  27. 

,  floating  masses  of,  in  the  Polar  seas,  45. 

,  enormous  extent  of  the  Polar  glaciers,  49,  50. 

,  causes  which  prevent  the  accumulation  of 

Polar  ice,  55,  56. 

,  a  bad  conductor  of  heat,  57. 

,  ice-fields  of  Iceland,  69. 

,  glaciers,  ice-clifts,  and  avalanches  of  Spitz- 
bergen, 1.35,  136. 
,  impediments   offered   by  the   hummocks  to 

travellers  on  the  Polar  sea,  240. 

-,  icebergs  of  the  Antarctic  sea,  392. 

,  ice-caves  of  Greenland,  390. 

,  the  great  ice-barrier  of  the  Antarctic  Ocean, 

403. 

,  pack-ice  of  the  Antarctic  Ocean,  404,  405. 

Icebergs,  46. 

,  forms  and  size  of,  48. 

,  origin  of,  48. 

,  localities  in  which  most  of  the  icebergs  of  the 

North  Atlantic  are  formed,  49. 
,  Dr.  Hayes's  description  of,  in  a  midnight  sun, 

50. 

,  how  distinguished  at  night  and  in  fogs,  52. 

,  dangers  of  collisions  witli,  52. 

,  protection  to  ships  afforded  by,  53. 

,  dangers  of  anchoring  to,  53. 


476 


INDEX. 


Icebergs,  "calving"  of,  54. 

,  crumbling  of,  54. 

Ice-blink,  description  of  the  phenomenon  of,  54. 

,  its  advantages  to  the  Arctic  navigator,  54. 

Ice-fields,  46. 

-. ,  hummocks  on,  AG. 

,  collision  of,  48. 

,  dangers  caused  by,  to  ships,  48. 

Ice-grotto  of  Siirts-hellir,  77. 
Iceland,  volcanic  origin  of,  68. 

J  the  country  in  winter  and  in  summer,  68,  79. 

,  sterile  portions  of  tlie  island,  69. 

,  its  immense  ice-iields,  69. 

,  its  lava-streams,  69,  77. 

,  the  burning  mountains  of  Krisuvik,  69. 

,  the  mud-caldrons  and  hot  springs,  70. 

,  the  Great  Geysir,  71. 

,  the  Strokkr,  72. 

,  crystal  pools,  73. 

,  the  Almannagja,  73,  74. 

,  the  Surts-hellir,  or  caves  of  Surtur,  77. 

,  rivers  and  cascades  of,  78. 

,  influence  of  the  ocean  currents  on  the  cli- 
mate, 78. 

,  mean  anmial  temperature,  79. 

■ ,  absence  of  trees  in,  79. 

,  vegetation  and  condition  of  agriculture,  79. 

,  indigenous  land  quadrupeds,  80. 

,  cattle  of  the  Icelanders,  80. 

,  beverages,  80. 

,  mode  of  shearing  sheep,  80. 

,  characteristics  and  number  of  horses,  80. 

,  the  reindeer,  80,  81. 

,  the  polar  bear,  81. 

,  the  eider-duck,  81,  88. 

,  the  giant  auk,  85,  86. 

,  Icelandic  fish  and  fishing  season,  86,  87. 

,  hospitality  of  the  people,  87. 

,  minerals  of  the  countrj',  88. 

,  fuel  used  by  the  Icelanders,  88. 

,  history  of,  89. 

,  Naddodr's  discovery   of  the   Ice   Land,  89 ; 

which  he  named  Snowland,  90. 

,  circumnavigated   by  the  pirate    Gadar,  and 

called  by  him  Gardar's  holm,  90. 

,  visited  by  the  viking  Floki,  and   called  by 

him  Iceland,  90. 

,  foundation  of  Reykjavik  by  Ingolfr  and  Leif, 

90. 
,  exodus  from  Norwaj^  to,  91. 

■ ,  introduction  of  the  Norwegian  language  and 

customs,  91. 

,  code  of  laws  of  Uffliot  the  Wise,  91. 

,  the  ancient  Althing  at  Thingvalla,  91,  92. 

,  introduction  of  Christianity  into  the  island, 

92. 

,  the  golden  age  of  Icelandic  literature,  94. 

,  history  of,  annexation  of  the  island  to  Nor- 
way, 95. 

,  its  subsequent  misfortunes,  95. 

,  volcanic  eruptions,  95. 

,  misery  caused  by  the  curse  of  monopoly,  97. 

,  hope  for  the  future  of  the  islanders,  97. 

,  account  of  the  Icelanders  of  the  present  dav, 

98. 

,  Skalkott,  the  former  capital  of  the  island,  98. 

,  the  present  capital,  Reykjavik,  100. 

,  state  of  trade  in,  100. 

,  the  merchant  and  the  peasant,  101. 

,  temperate  habits  of  the  people,  101. 

,  condition  cf  agriculture,  102. 


Iceland,  a  harvest  home,  102. 

,  winter  life,  102, 108, 109. 

,  huts  of  the  Icelanders,  102,  103. 

,  churches,  104. 

,  clergymen  all  blacksmiths,  101 ;  note,  106  : 

their  poverty,  106-108. 

,  the  Iceland  poet,  John  Thorlakson,  107. 

■ -,  education  of  the  clerg}'  and  children,  108, 109. 

• ,  industry  and  thirst  fcr  knowledge  of  the  peo- 
ple, 109  ;  their  language,  109. 

,  the  library  of  Rej'kjavik,  109. 

,  the  Icelandic  Literarj-  Societj',  110. 

,  Icelandic  newspapers,  110. 

,  health  of  the  people,  110. 

,  difficulties  and  expense  of  travelling,  110-113. 

moss,  eaten  and  exported  by  the  Icelanders, 

79. 

moss,  food  for  the  deer  of  Spitzbergen,  137. 

,  in  the  treeless  zone,  21. 

Idols  of  the  Samoiedes,  180. 
IglooKk,  island  of,  848. 

lligliuk,  the  Esquimaux,  her  intelligence  and  pas- 
sion for  music,  348. 
Indians,  Red,  their  enmity  with  the  Esquimaux,  294. 
,  their  decimation  by  smallpox  and  drunken- 
ness, 308. 
,  effbrts  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  civ- 
ilize them,  312,  313. 

,  the  beaver  skin  their  standard  of  exchange 

with  the  Company,  313. 

Inglefield,  Captain,  his  search  for  Franklin,  359. 

,  his  discoveries,  365. 

Ingolfr,  the  Norwegian  yarl,  his  visit  to  Iceland, 
and  foundation  of  Reykjavik,  90. 

Innuits,  the,  see  also  Esquimaux,  433,  467. 

,  tlieir  character,  439,  461. 

,  amusement  of,  440. 

■ ,  their  dwellings,  443,  457,  402. 

,  distress  in  winter,  444. 

,  seal,  feasts  of,  445. 

,  mode  of  capturing  seals,  446,  448,  452. 

,  their  dogs,  445,  450,  454. 

,  their  opinion  of  the  bear,  451. 

,  mode  of  hunting  the  walrus,  454. 

,  their  implements,  456. 

,  mode  of  constructing  an  igloo,  457, 

,  their  use  of  the  reindeer,  458. 

,  their  clothing,  460. 

,  reindeer  feasts,  459. 

,  food  and  mode  of  eating,  460. 

,  their  religious  ideas,  460. 

,  treatment  of  the  sick,  461. 

,  gradual  extinction,  462. 

Insects  of  Taimurland,  227. 

Irish  colonists  on  the  Westm^n  Island?,  115. 

Irkutsk,  extreme  cold  of,  208. 
j ,  Wrangell's  visit  to,  233. 

,  summer  flowers  of,  233. 

I  Iron  mines  near  Drontheim,  124. 

Isabella,  Cape,  discovery  of,  ,365. 

Ishemsk,  Castren's  visit  to,  174. 
' ,  the  Isprawnik  of,  and  his  wife,  174,  176. 

Islands  within  the  Arctic  Circle,  barren  grounds  of 
1      the,  18. 
!  Isleif,  the  oldest  chronicler  of  the  North,  98. 

Issakow,  of  Kem,  rounds  the  north-eastern  extrem- 
ity  of  Nova  Zembla,  150. 

Italinenes,  cruelty  of  their   conquerors,  the   Rus- 
sians, 198. 

Ivan  Wasiljewitsch  I.,  first  Czar  of  Russia,  his  de- 
feat of  the  Tartars,  191. 


INDEX. 


477 


Ivan  Wasiljewitsch  I.,  subdues  the  Great  Novgo- 
rod, 191. 

,  becomes  head  of  the  Greek  orthodox  Church 

and  the  first  Czar,  192. 

,  Chancellor's  visit  to  him  at  Moscow,  336. 

Ivan  Wasiljewitsch  II.,  his  conquest  of  Kasan,  192. 

,  his  surname  of  the  Terrible,  192. 

Ivory,  fossil,  in  the  islands  of  New  Siberia,  202. 

Iwalo  river,  in  Lapland,  Castren's  journey  on  the, 
169. 


.Takowlew  famil}',  219. 

,  their  enormous  wealtli  in  gold  mines,  219. 

Jakuts,  the,  confirmed  by  the  Czar  in  their  posses- 
sions, 199. 

,  their  snares  and  traps,  213. 

,  their  energy  and  cunning,  228. 

■ ,  their  language,  origin,  character,  and  person- 
al appearance,  228. 

,  their  summer  and  winter  huts,  229. 

,  their  horses,  230. 

J  their  powers  of  endurance  and  sharpness  of 

vision,  230. 

,  their  manufactures  and  articles  of  dress,  231. 

,  their  gluttony,  231. 

,  the  universal  carriers  to  the  east  of  the  Lena, 

231. 

,  their  superstitions,  232. 

,  their  offerings  of  horsehair  to  the  spirit  of  the 

mountains,  232. 

,  their  songs,  232. 

,  wretched  condition  of  the  river,  252. 

.Jakutsk,  mean  temperature  of,  in  summer  and  win- 
ter, 27. 

,  extreme  cold  of,  208. 

,  gloomy  appearance  of  the  town,  233. 

,  trade  of,  233. 

•Ian  Meyen,  description  of,  146. 
Jelly,  made  from  the  horns  and  claws  of  the  rein- 
deer, 37. 
Jelly-fish  {Pleurohraclda  pikus)  in  the  sea  of  Kara, 

151. 
Jenissei  river,  Castren's  journey  to  the,  176. 
.Jeniseisk,  Castren's  visit  to,  177. 

,  the  ostrog  of,  founded,  195. 

Jyrfalcon  {Falco  gijrfako),  its  head-quarters  in  Ice- 
land, 85. 

,  former  trade  in  the,  85. 

Jilibeambaertje,  or  Num,  the  Supreme  Being  of  the 

Samoiedes,  179. 
"John,  Gentleman,"  the  English  pirate,  118. 
John's,  St.,  capital  of  Newfoundland,  378. 
Jtikuls,  or  ice-mountains  of  Iceland,  68. 
Jokulsa  i  Axarfirdi  river,  in  Iceland,  78. 
Jokulsa  river,  in  Iceland,  78. 
Jones's  Sound,  discovery  of  the  entrance  to,  343. 
Jukahires,  chief  resource  of  those   of  the  Aniuj, 

237. 
,  Jelissei  Busa's  residence  among  the,  195, 


Kadiak,  island  of,  discovery  of  the,  202. 
Kaiak,  island  of,  landing  of  Stella  on  the,  249. 
"Kalewala,"  Castren's  Swedish  translation  of  the, 

170. 
Kamchatka,  subjugation  of,  by  the  Russians,  198. 
,  cruelty  of  the  conquerors,  198. 


Kamchatka,  Steller's  scientific  journey  to,  248. 

,  its  climate  and  fertility,  254. 

,  abundance  of  fish  in  the  rivers,  255. 

,  bird-catchers  of,  255. 

,  population,  255. 

,  mountain  chain  and  volcanoes,  256. 

,  climate  and  mineral  springs,  256. 

,  harbors  and  population,  256. 

,  healthiness  of  the  people,  257. 

,  their  food,  258. 

,  their  animals,  258,  2G0. 

,  character  of  the  people,  260,  261. 

Kane,  Dr.,  his  Arctic  voyages,  365. 

,  his  account  of  his  first  winter  in  Rensselaer 

Bay,  365. 

,  his  description  of  the  Polar  night,  3G6. 

,  his  sledge  journey  along  the  coast  of  Green- 
land, 367. 

,  his  illness  on  the  voyage  and  recovery,  368. 

,  resolves  to  winter  a  second  time  in  Rensselaer 

Bay,  369. 

,  departure  and  return  of  part  of  his  crew,  369, 

370. 

,  sufferings  of  his  party,  371. 

,  abandonment  of  his  ship,  and  boat  journey  to 

Upernavik,  371. 

,  his  return  to  New  York,  and  death,  372. 

Kara  Gate,  reached  by  Stephen  Burrough,  336. 

Kara,  Sea  of,  147. 

,  expeditions  to  the,  147. 

Kasan,  Russian  conquest  of,  192. 

Kellett,  Captain,  his  search  for  Franklin,  359. 

Kendall,  Lieut.,  his    voyage   to    the   Coppermine 
river,  349. 

,  his  account  of  Deception  Island,  393. 

Kennedy,  William,  his  searcli  for  Franklin,  358. 

,  his  sledge  journey  with  Bellot,  359. 

Kennedy    Channel,  Dr.    Hayes's   sledge   journey 
across,  368. 

,  his  voyage  across,  373. 

Kerguelen  Land,  climate  of,  393. 

Khipsack,  destruction  of  the  empire  of  the  Khans 
of,  191. 

King,  Captain,  his  survey  of  the  Magellan  Strait, 
415. 

King   William's  Island,  coast  of,  traced  by  Mr. 
Thomas  Simpson,  356. 

Klofa  jokul,  extent  of  the,  69. 

Knight,  John,  his  melancholy  Arctic  voyage,  341. 

,  murdered  by  the  Esquimaux,  342. 

Koldewev,  Captain,  his  journey  towards  the  North 
Pole,  .374. 

Kolwa,  Castren's  visit  to,  174. 

Kolyma  river,  inundations  of  the,  237. 

Kolymsk,  Nishnei,  foundation  of  the  town  of,  197. 

,  Wrangell's  visit  to,  234. 

,  situation  and  climate  of,  234. 

,  vegetable  and  animal  life,  235. 

,  population  of  the  district,  236. 

,  dwellings  of  the  Russian  residents,  236. 

,  mode  of  life  of  the  natives,  236,  237. 

,  their  dogs,  236,  237. 

,  berry-gathering  in  the  district,  238. 

,  famine  of  the  people,  238. 

,  social  parties  at,  238. 

Koriaks,  the,  confirmed  by  the  Czar  in  their  pos- 
sessions, 199. ' 

Koronnoie  Filippowskoi,  Von  MiddendorfTs  journey 
to,  221. 

Kostin  Schar,  visit  of  Von  Baer  to,  152. 

,  storm  in,  152. 


478 


INDEX. 


Kotlugja,  eruptions  of,  since  the  colonization  of 

Iceland,  95,  97. 
Krasnojarslv,  Castren's  visit  to,  175,  176. 

,  extravagance  of  the  gold  aristocracj'  of,  218. 

Krenitzin,  his  discovery  of  the  peninsula  of  Aljaska, 

202. 
Kresdowosdwishensk,  produce  of  the  gold  mine  of, 

218. 
Krisuvik,  burning  mountains  of,  69. 
Krotow,  Lieutenant,  lost  off  Nova  Zenibla,  147. 
Kutchin  Indians,  their  dwelling-place,  331. 

,  their  personal  appearance  and  dress,  331. 

■ ,  their  medium  of  exchange,  331. 

,  their  women  and  children,  332. 

,  their  amusements,  332. 

,  their  wars  with  the  Esquimaux,  333. 

,  their  suspicious  and  timorous  lives,  333. 

,  their  mode  of  pounding  the  moose-deer,  333. 

,  their  frequent  distress,  334. 

,  their  huts,  334. 

Kutchum  Khan,  his  conquest  of  Siberia,  192. 
,  defeated  by  Yermak  the  robber,  at  Tobolsk, 

193,  194. 
,  his  revenge,  194. 


Labrador,  barren  lands  of,  22. 

,  effect  of  the  icy  seas  and  cold  currents  on  the 

climate  of,  22. 
,  discovered  and  colonized  bv  Greenlanders, 

335. 
Lachow  Islands,  discovery  of  the,  202. 
Lagarfliot  river,  in  Iceland,  78. 
Lakes  of  Newfoundland,  377. 
Lambert,  M.  GustaveJ  his  opinion  as  to  the  route 

to  the  Pole,  375. 
Lancaster  Sound,  discovery  of  the  entrance  to,  343^ 
Lapps,  their  history  and  conversion  to  Christianity, 

156. 

,  poverty  and  self-denial  of  their  clergy,  157. 

,  their  ancient  gods  and  present  superstitions, 

156,  157. 

,Evil  Spirit  of  the  woods,  157. 

,  sorcery  and  witchcraft,  158. 

,  their  personal  appearance,  158. 

Lappars,  the  Fjall,  or  Mountain  Lapps,  159. 

,  their  dwellings,  159. 

,  their  reindeer  pens,  160. 

,  their  sunmier  and  winter  encampments,  161. 

,  their  sledges  and  skates,  161. 

— — ,  natural  beauties  of  their  country,  162. 

,  their  love  of  home,  162. 

,  their  mode  of  hunting  the  bear  and  the  wolf, 

163,  164. 

,  the  wealthy,  and  their  mode  of  living,  164. 

,  their  annual  visits  to  the  fairs,  165. 

,  their  drunkenness,  165. 

,  thsir  worship  of  mammon,  treasure  hoard- 
ing, 165. 

,  their  fondness  for  brandy  and  tobacco,  165. 

,  thL-ir  affectionate  disposition,  166. 

.  the  Skogslappars,  or  Forest  Lapps,  166. 

,  the  Fisher,  166. 

Laptew,  Lieut.  Clicriton,  his  explorations  of  the 

coasts  of  Taiinurland,  200. 

,  his  explorations  to  the  east  of  the  Lena,  200. 

Larch,  the,  of  Siberia,  24. 

,  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territorj',  24. 

Lawrence,  St.,  climate  and  vegetation  of  the  island 

of,  271 


Lava  streams  of  Iceland,  69,  77. 

-,  streams  of,  thrown  out  by  the  great  eruption 

of  Skaptar  Jokul,  95-97. 

Laxaa,  or  Salmon  river,  abundance  of  fish  caught 
in  the,  87. 

Leif,  the  Norwegian  jarl,  his  visit  to  Iceland,  90. 

,  murdered  b}'  Uis  Irish  slaves,  91. 

Lemming,  its  habitat  and  food.  42. 

,  exaggerations  of  Olaus  Magnus  and  Pontoj)- 

pidan  respecting  the,  42. 

-,  its  enemies,  and  accidents  to  which  it  is  lia- 
ble, 42. 

of  New  Siberia,  27. 

of  Nova  Zembla,  154. 

Lena  river,  ascended  by  the  Cossacks,  195. 

,  importance  of  the,  17. 

,  barren  grounds  near  the,  22. 

,  Wrangell's  journey  down  the,  233. 

Lepvosy,  or  "  likthra,"  of  Iceland,  110. 

Lichens,  gray,  of  the  "barren  grounds,"  18. 

,  food  for  the  reindeer,  27. 

,  the  Lichen  rangifcrinus,  the  food  of  the  rein- 
deer, 36. 

of  Nova  Zem!)la,  153. 

of  the  Pribilow  Islands,  271. 

Liddon,  Lieut.  M.,  his  Arctic  voj'ages,  345. 

Lindenow,  Godske,  his  voyage  to  Greenland,  383. 

Lion,  sea-  (jDtaria  Stelleri),  value  of  the  skin  of  the, 
276. 

,  the  sea-,  of  the  Antarctic  Ocean,  399. 

Lister,  Cape,  discovery  of,  385. 

Lithuania,  the  elk  of,  39. 

Louisa,  Garcia  de,  his  voyage  round  the  globe,  413. 

Lofoten  Islands,  the,  125. 

,  cod-fishery  of  the,  125, 126. 

Looming  objects  in  the  Arctic  regions,  55. 

Loschkin,  the  walrus-hunter,  his  voyage  on  the  coast 
of  Nova  Zembla,  147. 

Liistadius,  the  Lapp  priest,  his  self-denial  and  pov- 
erty, 157. 

Loucheux.     See  Kutchin  Indians. 

Louis-Philippe  Terre,  discovery  of,  402. 

Lovunnen,  puffins  of,  125. 

Lowenorn,  his  voyage  to  Greenland,  385. 

Liitke,  Admiral,  his  endeavors  to  penetrate  along 
the  coast  of  Nova  Zembla,  147. 

Lychnis,  purple,  of  the  Arctic  regions,  20. 

Lj'nx,  Canada,  or  pishu  {Lynx  Canadensis),  317. 

— — ,  value  of  the  fur  of  the,  212,  317. 

Lyon,  Captain,  his  unsuccessful  voyage,  348. 


M. 


Mackenzie,  Alexander,  his  voyages  of  discovery 
in  North  America,  308. 

Mackenzie  river,  importance  of  the,  17. 

,  forests  and  barren  lands  near  the,  22. 

,  influence  of  the  southerly  winds  on  the  tem- 
perature of  the  vallej'  of  the,  27. 

— — ,  di-^covery  of  the,  308. 

Maesnikow,  Nikita,  his  gold-fields  in  Eastern  Sibe- 
ria, 214,  217,  218. 

Magdalena  Bay,  description  of,  133. 

Magellan',  Strait  of,  408. 

,  description  of  the,  408. 

,  entrances  to,  409. 

,  opening  into  the  Pacific,  411. 

,  discovery  of  the,  b}'  Magellan,  413. 

,  Sir  J.  Narborougli's  chart,  414. 

,  Captains  King  and  Fitzroy's  survey's  of,  415. 


INDEX. 


479 


Magero,  island  of,  r29. 

Magicians  of  the  Samo'iedes,  180,  181. 

Malewinskv,  Lieutenant,  his  gold  mine  of  Olginsk, 

218. 
Maelstrom,  the,  126. 
Mammoth,  fossil  remains  of  the,  in  New  Siberia, 

202. 
Man,  his  difficulty  in  establishing  a  footing  in  the 

Arctic  regions,  17. 
,  liow  he  is  able  to  stand  the  rigors  of  an  Arc- 
tic winter,  28. 
Maps  of  the  Esquimaux,  302. 
Mariinsk,  station  of,  built  by  the  Russians,  196. 

— ,  gold  mine  of,  217. 

Marshes  of  Newfoundland,  377. 
Marten,  pine  {Martes  abietum'),  the,  316. 

,  value  of  the  fur  of  the,  316. 

Mary  Minturn  river,  flowers  of,  20. 

Matiuschkin,  his  sledge  journev  over  the  Polar  Sea, 

241. 
Matoschkin  Schar,  visits  to,  147-152. 
Matthew,  St.,  island  of,  inhospitable  character  of 

the,  271. 
Matthew's  Straits,  visited  by  Rosmysslow,  Pach- 

tussow,  and  Herr  von  Baer,  147-152. 
McClintock,  Lieut,  (now  Sir  Leopold),  his   search 

for  Franklin,  360. 
,  his  voj'age  in  the  "  Fox,"  and  discovery  of 

the  fate  of  Franklin  and  his  companions,  362-364. 
McClure,  Captain,  his  search  for  Franklin,  359-361. 

,  his  discovery  of  the  north-west  passage,  360. 

Mecham,  Lieut,  his  search  for  Franklin,  360. 
Mediterranean,  dried  codfish  sent  to  the,  129. 
MedusiB,  enormous  numbers  of,  in  the  Polar  world, 

59. 

,  in  the  seas  off  Spitzbergen,  133. 

Melville  Ba}',  enormous  glaciers  of,  49,  50. 

Melville  Island,  discovery  of,  345. 

Mentschikoff,  Prince,  his  exile  and  death  in  Siberia, 

205. 
,  his  son  restored  to  the  honors  of  his  house, 

205. 
Mercy  Bay,  discovery  of,  361. 
Merc}',  liarbor  of,  412. 
Middendorft",  Von,  his  adventures  in  Taimurland, 

220. 

,  his  visit  to  the  Chatanga  river,  221. 

,  his  journey  down  the  Taimur  river  to  the 

Polar  Sea,  221-223. 

,  his  return  journey  and  illness,  223-225. 

,  gratitude  of  the  Samoi'edes,  224. 

,  his  obser%'ations  on  the  climate  and  natural 

productions  of  Taimurland,  225. 
Midnight,  silence  of,  in  Spitzbergen,  135. 
Milk  of  the  reindeer,  36. 
Minerals  of  Iceland,  88. 
Mink  (^Vison  Americanns),  value  of  the  fur  of  the, 

316. 
Misery,  Mount,  145. 
Mollusca,  small,  of  the  Polar  Seas,  59. 
Moonlight  nights  in  the  Arctic  regions,  32,  33. 
Morse.     See  Walrus. 
Morton,  one  of  Dr.  Kane's  crew,  his  illness,  368. 

,  his  discover}'  of  Washington  Land,  369. 

Mosquitoes  of  Nishne-Kolymsk,  235. 
Mosses,  dingy,  of  the  "  barren  grounds,"  18." 

of  Nova  Zembla,  153. 

of  the  Pribilow  Islands,  270,  271. 

Mourawieff,  Count  Nicholas,  his  annexation  of  the 

Amoor,  196. 
Mouse,  field,  of  Spitzbergen,  137. 


Muchamor,  the  fungus,  used  as  food  by  the  Kam- 

chatkans,  258. 
Mud-springs,  boiling,  of  Iceland,  70. 
Munich,  Marshal,  his  exile  to  Siberia,  205. 

,  his  return  and  subsequent  life,  206. 

Munk,  Jens,  his  voyages,  343. 

Munkliolm,  castle  of,  124. 

Murderers,  treatment  of,  in  Russia,  206. 

Muscovy    Company,  its   endeavors   to  discover   a 

north-east  passage  to  India,  336. 
Musk-ox  {Ovibos  moschatus),  description  of  the,  40. 

,  its  former  and  present  habitat,  40,  41. 

Musquash,  musk-rat,  or  ondatra  {Fiber  zibethicus). 

317. 

,  villages,  318. 

,  modes  of  catching  the  animal,  318. 

,  value  of  the  fur  of  the,  318. 

Mussels  on  the  coast  of  Greenland,  59. 
Mvvatn,  ducks  of  the,  84. 


N. 


Naddodk,  the  Norwegian  pirate,  his  discoveiy  of 

Iceland,  89. 
Namar,  or  boiling  mud-springs  of  Iceland,  70. 
Narborough,  Sir  John,  his  chart  of  the  Strait  of 

Magellan,  414. 
Narwhal,  or  sea-unicorn,  domain  of  the,  60. 

,  its  tusk,  61. 

,  Greenland  fishery  of  the,  387. 

Narym,  Castren's  visit  to,  175. 
Necromanc\'  of  the  Samoiedes,  180. 
Nertschinsiv,  treaty  of,  196. 

,  criminals  at  the  mines  of,  206. 

Ness,  Castren's  visit  to  the  Samo'iede  village  of,  172. 
Newfoundland,  discovered  and  colonized  bj'  Green- 
landers,  335. 

.  its  desolate  appearance,  376. 

,  its  forests,  marshes,  and  barrens,  376,  377. 

,  its  lakes  and  ponds,  377,  378. 

,  its  fur-bearing  animals,  378. 

,  its  reindeer  and  wolves,  378. 

,  its  climate  and  inhabitants,  ."78. 

,  its  capital,  St.  John's,  378,  379. 

,  histor\'  of  the  island,  379. 

,  taken  jiossession  of  by  the  English,  379. 

,  right  of  the  French  and  Americans  to  fish 

on  the  banks  of,  379. 

,  the  French  town  of  Placentia,  379. 

,  the  whole  island  ceded  to  England,  379. 

,  importance  of  the  cod-fisheries,  379. 

,  the  great  banks  of,  380. 

,  account  of  the  mode  of  fishing,  380. 

,  fogs  and  storms,  380,  381. 

,  seal-catching,  381. 

Newspapers  of  Iceland,  110. 

Night  of  a  Polar  winter,  Kane's  description  of,  360. 

Nicolaj'evsk,  station  of,  built  I13'  the  Russians,  196. 

Noiba,  gold-diggings  on  the,  216. 

Norfolk  Bay,  position  and  fur-trade  of,  272. 

North-eastern  route  to  India  and  China,  Sebastian 

Cabot's  idea  of,  335. 

,  attempts  to  discover  it,  335-337. 

North  Pole,  the  first  attempt  to  sail  across  the,  342. 

,  the  plan  first  suggested  by  Thorne,  342. 

,  Scoresby's  near  approach  to  the,  314. 

,  Parry's  boat  and  sledge  journey  towards  the, 

350. 
,  Dr.  Hayes's  opinion  as  to  the  practicability 

of  reaching  the,  across  Kennedy  Channel.  374. 


480 


INDEX. 


Nortlj  Pole,  opinions  of  other  scientiBc  authorities 

as  to  the  best  way  to  reach,  374. 
North-west  passage  to  India,  attempts  to  discover 
the,  342,  343. 

. J  ]\I'Clure's  discovery  of  the,  3G0. 

'company  of  Canada,  formation  and  trade  of 

the,  307. 

< ,  its  wars  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 

and  final  amalgamation,  308-310. 
Northumberland  Sound,  temperature  of.  28. 
Nototheiiia,  the,  of  the  Antarctic  seas,  400. 
Norwav,  the  lemming  of  the  Dovrefjeld,  in,  42. 

,  an  absolute  monarcliy  established  by  Harold 

Haarfager  in,  90. 

,  causes  of  the  mild  climate  of  the  coast  of,  121. 

,  condition  of  the  soil,  and  of  the  cultivators 

of  it,  121-123. 
,  constitution  of,  and  education  of  the  people, 

121. 

,  population  of,  121. 

,  coast  scenery  of,  123. 

,  Diontheim  and  its  industry,  124. 

,  birds  of  the  coast  of,  124, 125. 

,  the  herring  and  cod  fisheries  of,  125-128. 

Nova  Zembla,  investigations  of  the  shores  of,  147. 

,  circumnavigated  by  Pachtussow,  147, 148. 

,  meteorological  observations  of  Ziwolka,  150. 

■ ,  the  climate  of,  151. 

. ,  Yon  Baer's  scientific  journey,  151. 

,  scientific  results  of  his  journey,  152,  153. 

,  vegetation  of,  153. 

■ ,  solitude  and  silence  of,  154. 

,  rarity  of  insects  in,  154. 

,  lemmings  and  foxes  of,  154. 

,  birds  of,  154. 

,  other  animals  of,  154,  155. 

,  wintering  of  the  Dutch  under  Barentz  at,  340. 

Novgorod,  the  Great,  subdued  by  the  Czar  Ivan  I., 

191. 
Nowodsikoff,  Michael,  his  discoveries,  201. 
Nudibranchiata,  enormous  numbers  of,  in  the  Polar 

seas,  59. 
NuUipores  on  the  coast  of  Greenland.  59. 
Nun,  or  Jilibeambaertje,  the  Supreme  Being  of  the 

Samoiedes,  179. 


Obdorsk,  Castren's  visit  to,  174. 

,  description  of  the  town,  188. 

,  the  fair  at,  189. 

Obi  river,  importance  of,  17. 

,  liarren  grounds  near  the,  22. 

,  its  importance  to  the  Ostiaks,  185. 

,  Castren's  journey  to  the,  174. 

,  misery  caused  b}'  the  ovei-flow  of  the,  175. 

,  inhabitants  of  the  banks  of  the,  175. 

Ochota  river,  the,  246. 

Ochotsk,  sea  of,  reached  by  a  party  of  Cossacks 
195. 

,  descriptionof  the  town,  246. 

Olaf  Truggeson,  King  of  Norway,  sends  a  mission- 
ary to  Iceland,  93,  94. 

Olginsk,  gold  mine  of,  218. 

Olonez,  number  of  bears  killed  for  their  skins  everj' 
year  in,  212. 

Ommaney,  Captain,  his  search  for  Franklin,  357. 

,  his  discovery  of  Franklin's  first  winter-quar- 
ters, 357. 

Onkilon,  or  sedentar}'  Tchuktchi,  267. 

,  their  mode  of  life,  267. 


Oraefa  Jcikul,  height  of,  69. 

,  eruptions  of,  since  the  colonization  of  Iceland, 

95. 
Orange  Island,  visited  by  Barentz,  339. 
Ore.     See  Grampus. 
Osborne,  Captain   Sherard,  his   opinion  as  to  tha 

method  of  reaching  the  North  Pole,  374. 
Ostiaks,  their  fishing-grounds  on  tlie  Obi,  175. 

,  their  summer  huts  and  mode  of  life,  185, 186. 

,  their  poverty,  186. 

,  their  winter  huts,  186. 

,  their  attachment  to  their  ancient  customs, 

186,  187. 

,  their  clans,  and  princes,  or  chieftains,  187. 

.,  their  excellence  as  archers,  187. 

,  their  personal  appearance,  and  customs,  188. 

,  annual  tribute  levied  by  Yermak,  the  robber, 

on  them,  194. 
,  confirmed  by  the  Czar  in  the  possession  of 

their  lands,  199. 
Ostrich,  Darwin's,  of  Patagonia,  420. 
Ostrownoje,  town  and  fair  of,  263-265. 
Otter,  the  sea-,  or  kalan  {Enhydris  lutris),  value  of 

the  fur  of  the,  211,212. 

— ,  description  of,  211. 

— ,  chase  of  the,  in  Kamchatka,  258. 

—  hunting  of  the  Aleuts,  273. 
Otter,  the  fish-  {Lutra  Canadensis),  317. 

,  fur  of  the,  317. 

Owl,  its  favorite  food,  43. 

■ ,  its  winter  in  the  highest  latitudes,  43. 

Ox,  the,  in  Iceland,  80. 

Ovster,  most  northerly  limit  where  found,  126. 


Pachtussow,  his  circumnavigation  of  the  southern 
island  of  Nova  Zembla,  148. 

,  his  second  voyage  and  death,  149,  150. 

Pack-ice,  46. 

,  its  tendency  to  separate  in  calm  weather,  54. 

Paikoft',  his  discovery  of  the  Fox  Islands,  201. 

Parrots  of  Patagonia,  420. 

Parry,  Lieut.  W.  E.  (afterwards  Admiral  Sir),  his 

Arctic  voyages,  344. 

,  his  second  voyage,  348. 

— ^— ,  his  third  voyage,  349. 

,  abandonment  of  the  "  Fury,"  349. 

,  his  boat  and  sledge  journey  towards  the  Pole, 

350. 

,  his  subsequent  career,  351. 

Parry,  Mount,  discovery  of,  369. 

,  Dr.  Hayes's  journey  to,  373,  374. 

,  Mountains,  discovery  of  the,  403. 

Pasina  river,  scanty  population  of  the,  220. 
Patagonia,  Captain  Fitzroy's  survey  of,  415. 

,  the  people  of,  4]  7,  420. 

,  difference  of  climate  between  the  east  and 

west,  417. 

— ,  aridity  of  the  east  of,  417,  418. 

— ,  large  rivers  of,  418. 

— ,  animals  of,  418,  419. 

— ,  introduction  of  the  horse,  424. 

— ,  fashions  of  the  Patagonians,  421. 

— ,  t^ieir  religious  ideas,  421. 

— ,  their  superstitions  and  astronomical   knowl- 
edge, 422. 

— ,  their  division  into  tribes,  422. 

— ,  their  huts,  422. 

— .  their  trading  routes,  423. 


INDEX. 


481 


Patagonians,  their  system  of  government,  and  great 
cacique,  423. 

,  their  arms,  amusements,  and  character,  424. 

Paul,  St.,  climate  of  the  island,  271. 

,  chase  of  tlie  sea-bear  on  the,  313. 

Paul  the  First,  discovery  of  the  Island  of,  274. 
Pekan,  or  woodshock  (_AJartes  Canadensis),  fur  of 

the,  316. 
Penas,  gulf  of,  glacier  at  the,  394. 
Penguin,  the,  of  the  Antarctic  seas,  395. 

,  its  food,  397. 

Penny,  Master,  his  search  for  Franklin,  357,  358. 
Peruvian  current,  influence  of  the,  394. 
Petermann,  Dr.  Augustus,  his  view  of  the  route  to 

the  Pole,  374. 
Petrel,  the  giant  (Procellaria  (jigantea^,  of  the  An- 
tarctic seas,  394. 
Petropavlosk,  its  population,  257. 

,  unsuccessful  attack  of  the  English  and  French 

on,  256. 
Petschora  river,  149. 
Philip's  bay,  409. 

Phipps,  Captain  (afterwards   Lord  Mulgrave),  his 
voj^age  to  discover  the  north-west  passage,  344. 
Pipit  {AnthiS  pratensis),  the,  of  Iceland,  81. 
Plachina,  Castren's  residence  and  study  at,  176. 
Plover  island,  discovery  of,  360. 
Plovers  of  Iceland,  81. 
Poland,  the  elk  of,  39,  40. 
Pole,  North,  probable  condition  of  the  land  (if  any) 

at  the,  27. 
Popow,  Fedor,  his  discovery  of  the  gold  fields  of 

Eastern  Siberia,  214. 
Population  of  Norway,  122. 
Potato,  cultivation  of,  in  Norway,  124. 
Pribilow  Islands,  climate  of,  271. 

,  sea-lions  and  guillemots  of,  271. 

,  chase  of  the  sea-bear,  274. 

Prontschischtschew,  "his  fruitless  endeavors  to  dou- 
ble the  capes  of  Taimurland,  200. 

,  death  of  him  and  his  wife,  20. 

Prussia,  East,  the  elk  of,  39,  40. 
Ptarmigan  (Lagopus  albus),  its  residence  in  the  high- 
est latitudes  in  winter,  43. 

of  Spitzbergen,  137. 

,  its  summer  visits  to  Taimurland,  227. 

in  the  Tundra  in  summer,  19. 

Pteropods,  food  for  the  Greenland  whale,  60. 
Puffins  of  Lovunnen  island,  125. 

,  mode  of  catching  them,  125. 

Punta  Arenas,  colonj'  of  Germans  at,  416. 
Pustosersk,  visit  of  Castren  to,  171,  173. 
Pym,  Lieut,  his  sledge  joumej'  of  search  for  Frank- 
lin, 360. 


Racoon  {Procyon  loior),  315,  378. 

,  value  and  trade  in  the  skins  of  the,  316. 

Kae,  Dr.,  his  search  for  Sir  John  Richardson,  357. 

,  his  discoveries  in  the  Arctic  seas,  357. 

,  his  discovery  of  the  fate  of  Franklin  and  his 

crew,  362. 
Raipass,  copper  mines  at,  128. 
Ranunculus,  snow  (Ranunculus  nivalis),  of  Nova 

Zembla,  153. 
Rat,  musk-.     See  Musquash. 
Ravens  of  Iceland,  84. 

,  in  Scandinavian  mythologj',  84,  85. 

,  superstitions  of  the  Icelanders  respecting  the, 

85.  1 

31 


Razor-bill,  its  nests  on  the  most  northern  rocks,  67. 
Red-knife  Indians,  their  hunting-grounds,  327. 
Red-pole,  tlie,  of  Spitzbergen,  137. 
Red  river  coluny,  destruction  of  the,  308. 
Red  sharks  of  Iceland,  81. 

Reindeer,  its  summer  and  winter  quarters  in  the 
Arctic  regions,  19. 

,  food  found  by  the,  in  Spitzbergen,  27. 

,  its  importance  to  man  in  the  northern  regions, 

34. 
■ ,  its  formation  and  adaptation  to  the  circum- 
stances in  which  it  is  placed,  .34. 

,  clattering  sound  of  its  feet,  34. 

,  its  antlers,  34. 

■ ,  its  young,  35. 

,  its  milk,  36. 

,  its  food  and  olfactorj'  powers,  36. 

,  the  caribou  of  North  America,  36. 

,  its  geographical  range  in  the.  Old  and  New 

A^^orld,  36. 

,  its  love  of  a  cold  climate,  36. 

,  its  services  to  man.  37. 

,  its  enemies,  and  disorders  to  which  it  is  lia- 

l)le,  37,  38. 
— ; — ,  a  nuisance  in  Iceland,  81. 

of  Spitzbergen,  137. 

,  the,  pens  of  the  Lapps,  160. 

,  milking  the,  160. 

,  the,  sledges  of  the  Lapps,  161. 

,  attempt  made  to  acclimatize  the,  in  Scotland, 

162. 

,  ravages  of  wolves  in  herds  of,  164. 

,  rich  Lapp  owners  of  herds  of,  164. 

,  Lapp  mode  of  killing  the,  164. 

,  its  two  annual  migrations,  237. 

hunts  of  the  Jukahires  of  tlie  Aniuj,  237,  238. 

races  of  the  Tchuktchi,  206. 

hunting  of  the  Esquimaux,  295. 

.  the  Kutchin  Indian  mode  of  pounding  the, 

333. 

,  chase  of  the,  in  Greenland,  388. 

Rensselaer  bay,  temperature. of,  in  mid-winter,  19, 

20. 

,  Kane's  winters  at,  365,  369. 

Resanow,  Jakin,  his  gold-fields,  214. 
"  Rescue,"  wreck  of  the,  440. 
Reykjahlid,  boiling  mud-caldrons  of,  70. 
Reykjavik,  mean  annual  temperature  of,  78. 

,  the  present  capital  of  Iceland,  91. 

,  account  of,  99,  100. 

,  the  annual  fair  of,  100. 

,  salary  of  the  bishop  of,  106. 

,  schools  and  library  of,  108. 109. 

,  the  Icelandic  Literary  Society,  110. 

Rhinoceros  remains  found  on  the  coast  of  North- 
ern Siberia,  203. 
Richardson,  Dr.  (afterwards  Sir  John),  his  Arctic 

land  voj^ages,  346,  349. 

,  dreadful  suflTerings  of  the  party,  346.  347. 

,  his  search  for  Sir  John  Franklin,  356. 

Rivers  discharging   their   waters  into   the    Polar 

ocean,  17. 

of  Iceland,  78. 

Rocky  INlountains,  the  wild  sheep  of  the,  41. 

Roebuck,  near  Lake  Baikal,  40. 

Rorquals,  or  fin-whales,  habitat  and  size  of  the,  60. 

,  their  food,  60. 

Rosmvsslow,  his   investigations  of  the  shores  of 

Nova  Zembla,  147. 
Ross,  Capt.  (afterwards  Sir  Jo'.in),  Arctic  voyages 

of,  344. 


483 


INDEX. 


Ross,  Sir  John,  his  second  journey,  351. 

J  his  five  years  in  tlie  Arctic  Ocean,  351-354. 

J  his  return  home  and  honors,  354. 

J  Sir  James,  his  Arctic  voyages,  351. 

J  his  searcli  for  Franklin,  357. 

'  his  discoveries  in  the  Antarctic  Ocean,  402. 

'collision    between   his   ships,  the   "Erebus" 

and  "  Terror,"  405,  406. 

,  his  d«iger  between  two  icebergs,  406. 

Kum,  effects  of,  on  an  Iceland  clergyman,  101. 
Rupert's  Land,  held  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 

310. 
Russia,  character  of  the  coniferae  of,  23,  24. 
,  the  elk  of  the  woods  of  the  northern  parts  of, 

40. 
.,  conquest  of.    by   the   Tartars    under   Baaty 

Khan,  191. 
,  liberated  from  the  Tartar  yoke  by  Ivan  I., 

191. 

,  advances  of,  in  Siberia,  195. 

,  annexes  the  country  of  the  Amoor,  196. 

,  condition  of  the  natives  under  the  yoke  of, 

197,  198. 

,  exiles  from,  to  Siberia,  204-206. 

,  value  of  the  skins  annually  imported  by,  21^, 

213. 

,  life  and  dwellings  in  Nishne-Kolymsk,  236. 

,  first  treaty  of  commerce  between  England 

and,  336. 
,  Company,  patent  granted   to  the,  to  fish  off 

Greenland,  138. 
Russian  Fur  Company,  account  of  the,  and  its  trade, 


S. 


Sabine,  Mount,  discovery  of,  402. 

Sable,  value  of  the,  to  the  Cossack  conquerors  of 

Siberia,  195. 

,  importance  and  beauty  of  tl)3  far  of  the,  209. 

,  hunting,  210. 

Sabrina  Land,  discovery  of,  401,  402. 

Sagamen,  or  historians,  of  Iceland,  94. 

Sajan  Mountains,  Castren's  journey  over  the,  177. 

Salmon,  Alpine  {Salino  al/nnus),  immense  numbers 

of,  in  Nova  Zembla,  155. 
Salmon,  shoals  of,  in  the  rivers  of  the  Arctic  regions, 

19. 

,  abundance  of,  in  Iceland,  87. 

,  of  the  Ssa  of  Ochotsk,  246,  247. 

,  abundance  of,  in  Kamchatka,  255. 

S.imoiedes,  European,  Castren's  journev  among  the, 

170. 

,  their  drunkenness,  171. 

,  their  impatience  of  confinement,  171-173. 

,  their  barbarism,  179. 

- — — ,  their  Supreme  Being,  Num,  or  .Jilibeamhaert- 

je,  179. 

,  their  recourse  to  incantations,  180. 

,  their  idols,  180,  181. 

,  their  reverence  paid  to  the  dead,  181. 

,  their  mode  of  taking  an  oath,  182. 

,  their  personal  appearance  and  habits,  182. 

,  their  wealth  in  reindeer,  183, 184. 

,  their  entire  number  in  Europe  and  Asia,  184. 

,  their  traditions  of  ancient  heroes,  184. 

,  confirmed  by  the   Czar  in  their  possessions, 

199. 
■ ,  the  companions   of  Yon  Middendorfi'  on   bis 

journey,  221,  225. 
Samund  Frode,  his  Icelandic  works,  94. 


Sand-bee  (Andrena)  of  Nova  Zembla,  154. 

Sand-reed  bread  used  in  Iceland,  79. 

Sarmiento,  Pedro,  his  voyage,  414. 

Sawinu  river,  148. 

Saxifragas,  the,  of  the  treeless  zone,  20. 

Scalds,  or  bards,  of  Iceland,  94. 

Scandinavia,  character  of  the  coniferaj  of,  22. 

Schalaurow,  his  journej'S  on  the  coast  of  Siberia, 

201. 
Scharostin,  his  residence  at  Spitzbergen,  142. 
Schelagskoi,  Cape,  rounded  by  Count  Michael  Stad- 
uchin,  197. 

,  reached  by  Schalaurow,  201. 

Scoresby,  Dr.,  his  visit  to  Spitzbergen,  132. 

,  Captain,  his  near  approach  to  the  North  Pole, 

344. 

,  his  voyage  to  Greenland,  385,  386. 

Scotia,  Nova,  discovered  and  colonized  by  Gresn- 

landers,  335. 
Scurvy  in  Spitzbergen,  140-142. 

,  preservative  against,  141. 

■ ,  Lapp  mode  of  preventing  the,  166. 

Sea,  influence  of  the,  on  the  severit}'  of  the  Arctic 

winter,  27. 
Sea,  Antarctic,  compared  with  the  Arctic  regions, 
391. 

,  absence  of  vegetation  in  the,  391. 

,  causes  of  the  inferiority  of  the  Antarctic  cli- 
mate, 391,  392. 

,  immensity  of  the  icebergs  of  the,  392. 

,  the  Peruvian  current,  394. 

,  birds  of  the  coasts,  394. 

,  cetaceans,  397-399. 

,  Austral  fishes,  400. 

,  voj'ages  of  discovery,  401. 

,  storms  and  pack-ice,  404  et  seq. 

Seas,  Arctic,  dangers  peculiar  to  the,  45. 

,  floating  masses  of  ice,  45,  40. 

,  ice-blink,  54. 

,  summer  fogs,  54. 

,  clearness  of  the  atmosphere  and  apparent  n  ar- 

ness  of  objects,  55. 

,  phenomena  of  reflection  and  refraction  of  the 

atmosphere,  55. 

,  causes  which  prevent  the  accumulation  of 

Polar  ice,  55-57. 

■ ;  the  animals  cf  the,  40,  43,  44,  59. 

,  Russian  discoveries  ofi"  the  Siberian  coast,  201 

et  seq. 

,  Von  Middendorffs  journey  down  the  Taimur 

river  to  the  Polar  sea,  221. 

,  Wrangell's  nights  on  the  Polar  sea,  239. 

,  his  observations  on  the  Polar  sea,  240. 

• -,  Matiuschkin's  sledge  journey,  241. 

,  voyages  of  the  English  and  Dutch,  335  et 

seq. 

Sea-bear  of  Bering's  sea,  62. 

Sea-eagles  of  the  coast  of  Norway,  125. 

Sea-elephant  of  the  Antarctic  Ocean,  398,  399. 
I  Sea-gulls  of  the  coast  of  Norway,  124, 125. 

Sea-lion  of  Bering  sea,  62. 
!  . of  the  Pribilow  Islands,  271. 

Seal-fishing  at  Spitzbergen,  142. 

■ of  Nova  Zembla,  155. 

hunts  of  the  Esquimaux,  295,  296. 

catching  at  Newfoundland,  381. 

■ hunting  on  the  coasts  of  Greenland,  384,  446. 

Seals,  the,  of  the  Polar  seas,  62. 

,  their  uses  to  man,  62,  440. 

,  the  .Xntarctic.  399,  400. 

,  their  igloos,  449. 


INDEX. 


483 


Sea-o:ter,  value  of  the  skin  and  former  numbers  of 

the,  201,  202. 
Sedger  river,  romantic  scenery  of  the,  410. 
Semple,  Governor,  murder  of,  308. 
Sertularians  on  the  coasts  of  Greenland,  59. 
Service-trees  iu  the  Arctic  regions,  24. 
Shark,  basking,  on  the  northern  coasts  of  Iceland, 
87. 

,  its  uses  to  the  islanders,  87. 

,  oil  manufactured  from  its  liver,  87. 

,  the  northern  {Scpnnus  microcephalus),  abund- 
ance of,  off  Spitzbergen,  137. 

,  fishery  of,  cm  the  coast  of  Greenland,  387. 

Sheep,  wild  (Ovis  montana),  of  the  Rocky  Mount- 
ains, description  of  the,  41. 

,  the,  of  Iceland,  and  their  enemies,  80. 

,  mode  of  sheep-shearing,  80. 

Shetland  Islands,  New,  account  of  the,  392,  393. 

Shrimps  off  Spitzbergen,  133. 

Siberia,  extent  of  the  treeless  zone  of,  22. 

,  character  of  the  coniferae  of,  23,  24. 

,  tlie  elk  of,  39. 

,  the  roebuck  and  red  deer  of,  40. 

;  the  argali,  or  wild  sheep  of,  41. 

,  the  white  dolphin  in  the  rivers  of,  61. 

,  conquest  of,  by  the  Cossacks,  for   the  Rus- 
sians, 193,  194. 
,  final  conquest  of,  by  the  Russians,  and  foun- 
dation of  Tobolsk,  195  et  seq. 

,  condition  of  tlie  natives  of,  under  the  domihion 

of  Russia,  197,  198.^ 

,  scientific  expeditions  sent  to,  200  et  seq. 

,  its  past  ages,  203. 

,  its  extent  and  capabilities,  204. 

,  the  exiles  sent  there,  204-206. 

,  their  condition  there,  206. 

,  condition  of  the  West  Siberian  peasants,  207, 

208. 

,  resources  of  the  country,  208. 

,  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  208. 

,  fur-bearing  animals,  209  et  seq. 

,  the  gold-fields  of  Eastern,  and  the  miners,  214- 

216. 

,  value  of  the  produce  of  some  of  the  mines 

217,  218. 

,  entire  value  of  the  produce  of  gold  in  1856 

and  1860,  218. 

,  luxury   and   extravagance    caused   by    the 

wealthy  gold  speculators,  218,  219. 

,  the  gold  of  the  Ural,  219. 

;  New,  lemmings  of,  27. 

,  discovery  of  the  islands  of,  201,  202. 

,  fossil  ivoiy  of,  202. 

Sibir,  the  capital  of  the  Tartars  in  Siberia,  192. 

,  taken  by  Yermak,  the  robber,  for  the  Czar, 

194. 
Simpson,  Mr.  Thomas,  his  Arctic  land  voyage,  355. 

,  his  discoveries,  356. 

,  assassinated,  356. 

Sirowatsk}^,  his  discoverj'   of  the   Archipelago  of 

New  Siberia,  203. 
Skalholt,  the  ancient  capital  of  Iceland,  account  of, 
98. 

,  its  present  condition,  99. 

,  its  meadow  lands  and  scenery,  99. 

Skaptar  jokul,  69 

,  the  great  eruption  of,  in  1783,  95. 

Skates  of  Lapps,  161. 

Skeidara,  Mr.  Holland's  journey  across  the,  111,  112. 

Skjalfandafijot  river  in  Iceland,  78. 

Skogslappar,  or  Forest  Lapps,  account  of  th:-,  1G6. 


Sledges  of  the  Lapps,  161. 

,  the  sacred  sledge,  Ilahengau,  of  the  Samo;- 

edes,  180. 

Smith's  Sound,  temperature  of,  27. 

,  icebergs  formed  in,  48. 

,  discovery  of  the  entrance  to,  343,  365. 

"  Smoke,  valley  of,"  in  Iceland,  70. 

Snorri  Sturleson,  the  Herodotus  of  the  North,  ac- 
count of  him  and  his  "  Heimskringla,"  94,  95. 

Snow-buntings  of  the  "barren  grounds,"  18. 

Snow,  its  protection  of  the  vegetation  of  the  Arctic 
regions,  19. 

,  warmth  caused  by,  19. 

,  no  land  yet  found  covered  to  the  water's  edge 

with  eternal  snow,  27. 

,  amount  of  the  fall  of,  in  Taimurland,  225,  226. 

,  probable  diminution  of  the  fall  of,  advancing 

towards  tlie  pole,  226. 

,  its  protection  against  cold,  226. 

Socialism  among  the  Dog-rib  Indians,  329. 

Solfataras  of  Iceland  and  Sicily  compared,  88. 

Solovetskoi,  convent  of,  180. 

Sorcery  of  the  Laplanders,  158. 

,  of  the  Samoiedes,  180. 

Spain,  salted  cod-fish  imported  into,  129. 

Spasy,  produce  of  the  gold  mine  of,  218. 

Spirits,  invisible,  of  the  Samoiedes,  180,  181. 

Spitzbergen,  flowers  of,  20. 

,  vast  fields  of  ice  in  the  plateau  of,  27. 

,  food  of  the  reindeer  of,  27. 

.  proofs  of  a  former  milder  climate  in,  29,  30. 

,  birds  of,  43,  44. 

,  apparent    nearness   of  objects   at,    in    cloar 

weather,  64. 

,  the  walrus  of  the  coast  of,  64. 

,  description  of  the  archipelago  of,  131, 132. 

,  the  west  coast,  132. 

,  Scoresby's  ascent  of  a  mountain,  and  excur- 
sion along  the  coast,  132,  133. 

,  Magdalena  bay,  133-136. 

,  ice-clift's  and  avalanches  of  ice,  135. 

,  scientific  exploring  expeditions  sent  to,  136. 

,  flora  and  fauna  of,  136, 137. 

■ ,  fisheries  of,  139. 

,  coal  and  drift-wood  of,  137,  138. 

,  history  of,  138. 

,  attempts  made  to  colonize  it,  139  -141. 

,  Russian  hunters'  mode  of  wintering  at,  142. 

,  walrus  and  seal-fishing  at,  142. 

,  discover^'  of,  340. 

Spout,  the,  of  Newfoundland,  376. 
Springs,  hot,  of  Iceland,  70. 

,  the  Geysir,  71. 

,  the  Strokkr,  72. 

Spruce  fir  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  territory,  24. 
Squirrel,  value  of  the  fur  of  the,  212. 
Stadolski  Island,  visit  of  Pachtussovv  to,  148. 
Staduchin,  Count    Michael,  his  foundation   of  the 
town  of  Nishnei-Kolymsk,  196,  197. 

navigates  the  sea  eastward  of  Cape  Schcbg- 

skoi,  197. 
Stawinen  river,  148. 
Steller,  G.  W.,  notice  of  him,  248. 

,  his  scientific  journey  to  Kamchatka,  248. 

,  ill-treated  by  Bering,  250. 

,  his  sufferings  on  Bering's  Island,  251. 

,  death  of  his  commander,  Bering,  252. 

,  his  return  to  Kamcliatka,  252. 

,  persecuted  by  the  Siberian  authorities,  250. 

,  his  death,  253. 

Stockfish  of  Iceland,  87. 


484 


INDEX. 


Storms  on  the  ^Yhite  Sea,  109. 

of  the  Tundras,  172,  173. 

of  the  Arctic  zone,  225,  22(j. 

off  Newfoundland,  c81. 

in  the  Antarctic  ocean,  404,  405. 

^  the  williwaws,  or  hurricane  squalls,  of  the 

Straitof  Magellan,  412. 
Strogonoff,  foundation  of  the  Russian  family  of,  102, 

193. 
Strokkr,  description  of  the,  72. 
Strongbow  Indians  of  the   Rocky  Mountains,  the, 

327. 
Sukkertoppen,  seen  by  Davis,  337. 
Sulphur  of  Iceland,  88. 

,  compared  with  that  of  Sicily,  88. 

Siunmer,the  perpetual  daylight  of,  36. 

,  fo{?s  of,  54. 

in  Taimurland,  225. 

Sun,  the  midnight,  effect  of,  on  icebergs,  50-52. 

Sunset,  magnificence  of  a,  32. 

Surgut,  Castren's  visit  to,  175. 

Surts-hellir,  or  caves  of  Surtur,  description  of,  77. 

Suslik,  the,  of  Siberia,  212. 

,  value  of  its  fur,  212. 

Svatoinoss,  Cape,  fossil  ivory  at.  202. 
Sviatoi-noss,  doubled  by  the  Russians,  200. 
Swans  of  Iceland,  81,  84. 


Tabix,  the  imaginary  Cape,  of  the  Dutch  naviga- 
tors, 339. 

Tadibes,  or  sorcerers  of  the  Samoiedes,  180. 

,  their  dress  and  incantations,  180. 

Tagilsk,  Nishne,  the  gold-producing  town  of,  219. 

Taiga,  inelancholv  character  of  the,  230. 

,  gold-fields  of  the,  213. 

Taimur  Lake,  visited  by  Lieut.  Laptew,  200. 

,  storm  on  the,  223. 

Taimur  river,  visited  by  Lieut.  Laptew,  200. 

,  Von  Middendorff's  journey  to  the,  221-223. 

Taimurland,  endeavors  of  Prontschischtschew  to 
double  the  capes  of,  200. 

,  Middendorffs  adventures  in,  220,  221. 

,  his  observations  on  the  climate  and  natural 

productions  of,  225. 

,  amount  of  the  fall  of  snow  in,  225,  226. 

Tana  river,  discovery  of  the,  by  Jelissei  Busa,  195. 

Tarn  Mount,  Darwin's  ascent  of,  411. 

Tartars,  their  subjection  of  the  Russians,  191. 

driven  out  by  Ivan  I.,  191. 

permanently  overthrown  by  Ivan  II.,  192. 

Tattooing,  Cree  Indian  mode  of,  323. 

Tchendoma,  the,  visited  by  Jelissei  Busa,  195. 

Tchuktchi,  barren  grounds  in  the  land  of  the,  21, 
22. 

,  the  land  of  the.  262. 

,  pipes  of,  264. 

,  their  short  summer,  262. 

,  their  independence  and  commercial  enterprise, 

263. 

ladies,  Matiuschkin's  visit  to  some,  265. 

,  amusements  of  the  people,  266. 

,  the  wandering  and  sedentarj',  267. 

,  their  mode  of  life,  207. 

,  population  of  the  land  of  the,  267. 

Tea-parties  at  Nishne-Kolymsk,  2."8. 

Temperature  of  Rensselaer  bay  in  mid-winter,  19, 
20. 

,  effect  of  the  sea  on,  of  the  Arctic  regions,  27. 


1  Temperature,  influence  of  the  winds  on,  27. 

,  former  milder,  of  the  Arctic  regions,  29. 

,  probable  causes  of  the  changes  in  the  Arctic 

climate,  29. 

,  the  lowest  ever  felt  by  man,  28. 

' ,  how  man  is  enabled  to  bear  extraordinary  low, 

1      28. 

of  Iceland  at  different  places,  78. 

Tennvson's  Monument,  Dr.  Kane's  description  of, 

367. 
Terror,  Mount,  403. 
Terski  Lapps,  Castren's  attempted  journev  to  the, 

170. 
Thangbrand,  Christian  missionary  to  Iceland,  93, 

94. 
Thingvalla,  plain  of,  76. 
,  site  of  the  ancient  Icelandic  Althing  at,  91, 

92. 

,  pastor  of,  104. 

,  church  of,  105. 

Thingvalla  Lake,  in  Iceland,  92. 

Thiorsa  river,  in  Iceland,  78. 

Thorlakson,  .Jon,  the   poet  of  Iceland,  account  of 

him  and  his  works,  107. 
Thorne,  Robert,  his  suggestion  for  sailing  across  the 

North  Pole,  342. 
Thorwald  the  traveller,  the  first  Christian  Icelander, 

his  career,  92,  93. 
Tides,  effect  of  the,  in  preventing  the  accumulation 

o6  Polar  ice,  57. 
Tinne  Indians,  defeated  by  the  Crees,  319. 

,  their  retaliation,  320. 

,  their  wars  with  the  Blackfeet,  320. 

,  their  wigwams,  or  tents,  324. 

,  various  tribes  of  the,  and  their  range,  327. 

,  their  appearance,  manners,  and  customs,  327- 

329. 

,  improvements  in  their  condition,  329,  330. 

,  their  wives  and  children,  330. 

•,  their  cruelty  to  the  aged,  330. 

Tjnmen,  the  first  settlement  of  Russians  in  Siberia, 

195. 
— '■ — ,  Steller's  grave  at,  253. 
Tobacco,  fondness  of  the  Lapps  for,  165, 167. 
,  eagerness  of  the  wild  tribes  of  the  North  for, 

264. 
Tobolsk,  battle  of,  193,  195. 

,  foundation  of  the  city  of,  195. 

,  condition  of  the  southern  part,  207,  208. 

Tolstoi  Ness,  Castren's  visit  to,  177. 
Tolstvch,  Adrian,  his  discoveries,  201. 
Tomsk,  criminals  of,  206,  207. 
[  Tornea,  reindeer  gloves  of,  37. 
I  Torsteinson  Jon,  the  martyr  of  the  Wcstman  Isl- 
I       ands,  118. 
Tookoolito,  442,466. 
Train-oil  of  Troms.i,  128. 
Transbaikalia,  Castren's  visit  to,  177. 
Travelling  in  Iceland,  110,  111. 
Treeless  zone  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  America,  18-22. 
Treurenberg  bay,  deer  of,  137. 
Trolladyngja,  eruptions  of,  since  the  colonization  of 

Iceland,  95. 
Tronso,  cod-fishery  and  cod-liver  oil  of,  128. 

,  description  of  the  town  and  island,  128. 

Tschirigow,  his  voyages,  201. 

Tucatuco  (_Ctenomys  Maffellanica),  the,  of  Patagonia, 

419. 
Tundri,  or  barren  grounds  of  the  Arctic  regions,  18, 

19. 
of  the  European  Samoiedes,  171. 


INDEX. 


485 


Tundri,  storms  of  the  Tundras,  172. 

Tung-ower,  or  hot  spring  at  Reikholt,  in  Iceland, 

70. 
Tungusi,  the,  their  relationship  to  the  Mantehou, 

244. 
,  their  conquests  and  final  subjugation  by  the 

Eussians,  244. 

,  their  intellectual  development,  244. 

,  their  tribes  and  population,  244. 

,  their  wretchedness,  244. 

,  their  manners  and  customs,  245. 

Tunguska  river,  gold-fields  of  the  Upper,  214. 
Turkey-buzzard,  the,  of  Patagonia,  419. 
Turuchausk,  Castren's  visits  to,  176,  177. 
Tyndall  glacier,  enormous  size  of,  50. 


U. 


Uffliot  the  Wise,  his  first  code  of  laws  in  Iceland, 
91. 

Unalaschka,  climate  of,  2G9. 

,  vegetation  of,  209,  270. 

,  people  of,  273. 

Union,  Cape,  Dr.  Haj'es's  sledge  voyage  to,  373,  374. 

United  States,  right  of,  to  fish  on  the  banks  of  New- 
foundland. 379. 

Ural  Mountains,  Castren's  passage  of  the,  174. 

,  first  discovery  of  gold  in  the,  214. 

,  quantity  of  gold  found  in  the,  219. 

Ustsvlmsk,  Castren's  visit  to,  and  ill-treatment  at, 
173, 174. 

Utzjoki,  the  pastor  of,  169. 

Uusa  river,  Castren's  journey  up  the,  174. 


Vaage,  cod-fishery  of,  126. 

,  ancient  importance  of,  126. 

Vancouver's  Island,  placed  under  the  management 

of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  310. 
Vapor  baths  of  the  Cree  Indians,  324. 
Vare,  the,  of  Norway,  124. 
Vegetation,  protection  afforded  bj'  snow  to,  19. 
,  distinctive  characters  of  the   Arctic  forests, 

22-24. 

of  the  "  barren  grounds,"  18,  21,  22. 

- — -,  length  of  time  necessary  for  the  formation  of 

even  small  stems  of  trees  in  the  Arctic  regions, 

25. 

,  harmless  character  of  the  Arctic  plants,  25. 

,  no  land  yet  discovered  in  which  it  is  entirelj' 

subdued  by  winter,  27. 
,  former,  of  the  northern  regions  of  the  globe, 

29. 

of  Spitzbergen,  136. 

of  Nova  Zembla,  152. 

- —  of  Taimurland,  226. 

• of  Kamchatka,  254. 

of  the  Bay  of  Awatscha,  256. 

of  the  Pribilow  Islands,  271. 

of  Newfoundland,  376. 

■ •  of  Greenland,  388. 

,  absence  of,  in  the  Antarctic  regions,  391. 

of  Port  Famine,  410. 

Verchnei  Ostrog,  in  Kamchatka,  built,  198. 
Verazzani,  his  voyages,  335. 
Vestfjord,  cod-fishery  of  the,  126. 
Victoria  Land,  discovery  of,  402. 
Videv,  eider-ducks  of,  81,  82. 


Vigr,  eider-ducks  of,  83. 

,  Mr.  Shepherd's  visit  to,  83,  84. 

Vikings,  their  courage  and  discoveries,  89. 

Virgins,  Cape,  409. 

Vogelsang,  deer  of,  137. 

Volcanic  eruptions  in  Iceland  since  its  colonization, 
95. 

Volcanoes  giving  birth  to  Iceland,  68. 

,  those  now  existing  there,  69. 

,  the  Esk,  on  Jan  Meyen,  1^6. 

,  of  Kamchatka,  256. 

— — ,  eruption  of  Mount  Erebus,  403. 

Vole,  field  (^Arvicola  ceconomus),  indigenous  to  Ice- 
land, 80. 

Voyageur,  the,  of  North  America,  304. 

,  his  life  and  character,  304,  305# 


Walrus,  or  morse  (Tricheclms  rosmarus),  descrip- 
tion of  the,  62-64.' 

,  its  affectionate  temper,  64. 

,  its  parental  love,  64. 

,  its  chief  resorts  and  food,  64. 

fishing  at  Spitzbergen,  144. 

hunted  on  Bear  Island,  144. 

of  Nova  Zembla,  155. 

hunting  on  tlie  coast  of  Aliaska,  275. 

,  pieces  of  skin  of,  a  medium  of  exchange,  276. 

,  Esquimaux  mode  of  hunting  it,  298. 

Washington  Land,  discover}'  of,  369. 

,  Dr.  Hayes's  journey  to,  373. 

Wassiljew,  his  visit  to  the  Lena,  195. 

Waygatz,  island  of,  the  sacred  island  of  the  Samo:- 
edes,  180. 

Weasel,  the  Siberian  (  Vii'er7-a  Siberica'),  the  fur  of, 
211. 

Weddell,  Captain,  his  Antarctic  voyages,  401. 

Weklen,  his  visit  to  Bear  Island,  144. 

Wellington  Channel,  temperature  of,  28. 

,  discovery  of,  345. 

Wenjamin,  the  Archimandrite,  170. 

Western,  Thomas,  preaches  Christianity  to  the 
Lapps,  156. 

Westman  Islands,  description  of  the,  114, 

,  difficulty  of  access  of  the,  114. 

,  how  they  became  colonized,  115. 

,  Heimaej',  or  Home  Island,  116. 

,  food  and  trade  of  the  people,  117. 

,  population  and  mortality'  of  the  children,  118. 

■ ,  their  sufferings  from  pirates,  118, 119. 

Weymouth,  his  voyage  to  Hudson's  Bay,  341. 

Whale,  the  Greenland  (^Balcena  mysticetus),  or 
smooth-back,  60. 

— : —  off  Nova  Zembla,  155. 

,  the  white,  or  beluga,  61. 

,  the  "ca'ing,"  62.  , 

,  a  stranded,  at  Spitzbergen,  133. 

,  tlie  fin-back,  59,  60. 

of  Spitzbergen,  137. 

off  Nova  Zembla,  155. 

,  smootli-backcd,  of  tiie  Antarctic  seas,  397. 

,  sperm,  of  the  Antarctic  Ocean,  398. 

Whalers,  their  dangers,  in  thi  Arctic  seas,  48. 

,  depressing  effect  of  the  sunmier  fogs,  54. 

,  their  operations  in  the  Polar  seas,  59. 

,  whale  chases  of  the  Aleuts,  275. 

■ ,  whale-hunts  of  the  Esquimaux,  295. 

,  abundance  of  whalesin  the  Antarctic  seas,  397. 

,  battle  between  a  whale  Snd  a  grampus,  398. 


48C 


INDEX. 


Whale  Sound,  enormous  glaciers  of,  50. 
White-fish,  or  Coregonus,  of  North  America,  310, 

:ni. 

White  Seu,  Castreii's  journey  to  the,  170. 

-,  Chancellor's  discovery   of  the  passage  from 

England  to  the,  192. 

,  an  English  expedition  in  the,  33G. 

Whymper,  Frederick,  travels  in  Alaska,  277-289. 

Wilkes,  Captain,  his  discoveries  in  the  Antarctic 
Ocean,  402.  ' 

Wilkes's  Land,  discoveiy  of,  402. 

Williwaws  of  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  412. 

Willoughby,  Sir  Hugh,  his  voviige  and  death,  336. 

Willow,  polar  (Salix  polari-''),  of  Nova  Zenibla,  153. 

-,  dwarf,  of  the  treeless  zone,  21. 

,  dwarf,  on  tlie  shores  of  the  rivers  and  lakes,  24. 

A\'ind-hole  Sirait  of  the  Dutch  navigators,  339. 

Winds,  eflects  of  the  cold  sea-winds  on  vegetation, 
.22. 

,  influence  of  the,  on  an  Arctic  climate,  27, 

Winter  Harbor,  Parry's  winter  in,  345. 

IVinteria  aromatica,  the,  410. 

AVitchcraft  and  witches  of  the  Laplanders,  158. 

Wolf,  its  attack  of  the  reindeer,  37,  .38. 

,  Lapp  mode  of  hunting  the,  164, 

in  Newfoundland,  378. 

Wolverine.     See  Glutton, 

-,  fur  of  the,  316. 

Wood,  length  of  time  necessary  for  the  formation 
of,  in  the  Arctic  regions,  25. 

Woman,  dying,  abandoned,  462. 

Wrangell,  Lieut,  von,  his  services  as  an  Arctic  ex- 
plorer, 233. 


Wrangell,  his  journey  to  the   chores  of  the  Polar 

sea,  234. 

,  his  winters  at  Kolymsk,  238. 

,  his  night  on  the  Polar  sea,  239, 

,  his  danger,  and  return  to  St.  Petersburg,  241- 

243. 
Wrestling  for  a  wife  among  the  Tinne  Indians,  330 ; 

and  among  the  Kutchin  Indians,  332. 


Yenisei  river,  importance  of.  17. 

Yermak  Timodajcft",  the  Cossack  robber,  192. 

,  his  conquest  of  Siberia  and  death,  194. 

,  his  monument  in  Tobolsk,  194, 195. 

York  roads,  beauty  of,  412. 
Yukon  river,  278-289, 

,  ice  in,  283. 

Yukon,  fort,  284. 


Zkmbla,  Nova,  vast  ice-fields  of,  27. 

,  mean  temperature  of,  in  summer  and  winter, 

27. 

,  the  narwhal  of  the  seas  of,  60, 

,  the  walruses  of  the  coasts  of,  64. 

Zinzendorf,  Count,  his  interest  in  Greenland,  384. 
Ziwolka,  the  Russian  steersman,  his  voyages,  149, 

150. 
his  meteorological  observations,  150. 


THE  END, 


HARPER   &    BROTHERS 


LIST    OF    NEW    BOOKS 


Harper  &  Brothers  ivi^l  send  any  of  the  following  books  by  mail,  postage  prepaid,  to  any  part  of  the 

United  States,  on  receipt  of  the  price. 
Harper's  Catalogue,  with  Classified  Index  of  Contents,  setit  by  mail  on  receipt  of  Five  Cents,  or 
it  may  be  obtained  gratuitously  on  application  to  the  Publishers  personally. 


LOSSING'S  WAR  OF  1812.  The  Pictorial 
Field-Book  of  the  War  of  1812  ;  or,  Illustra- 
tions, by  Pen  and  Pencil,  of  the  History,  Biog- 
raphy, vScenery,  Relics,  and  Traditions  of  the 
Last  War  for  American  Independence.  By 
Benson  J.  Lossing,  Author  of  "The  Picto- 
rial Field-Book  of  the  Revolution."  With 
882  Illustrations,  engraved  on  Wood  by  Los- 
sing &  Barritt,  chiefly  from  Original  Sketches 
by  the  Author.  Complete  in  One  Volume, 
]  084  pages,  large  Svo.  Price,  in  Cloth,  $7  00 ; 
Slieep,  $8  .50 ;  Full  Roan,  $9  00  ;  Half  Calf 
or  Half  Morocco  extra,  $10  GO. 

Mr.  Lossing  not  only  writes  excellent  history,  but 
he  collects  the  materials  from  which  that  history  is 
made  ;  and  we  are  reminded  of  Herodotus,  who  trav- 
eled iuto  many  lauds  to  obtain  the  materials  from 
which  his  immortal  work  was  composed,  and  whose 
skill  Ailuess  in  acquiring  knowledge,  and  sagacity  and 
truthfulness  in  using  his  acquisitions,  modern  research 
and  criticism  are  putting  beyond  all  question,  thus  re- 
futing that  ignorance  which  would  have  it  that  the 
Fatljer  of  History  was  the  Father  of  Lies.  Mr.  Los- 
sing's  industry  is  equaled  only  by  his  conscientious- 
ness, which  leads  him  to  treat  all  parties  to  the  War 
of  1812  with  the  utmost  impartiality,  and  to  give  all 
the  facts  that  throw  light  upon  the  contest,  which  is 
a  novelty  in  writing  about  it,  for  never  was  the  his- 
tory of  an  important  war  told  in  a  more  partisan  man- 
ner than  that  of  our  second  conflict  with  England. 
*  *  *  The  time  has  come  when  it  is  possible  to  write 
of  it  with  candor  as  well  as  with  spirit,  as  Mr.  Lossing 
writes  its  history;  and  the  time  lias  come,  too,  wlieu 
we  are  beginning  to  understand  its  real  effect  on  the 
country,  and  whisn  it  is  possible  to  discuss  its  charac- 
ter and  its  conseqaences  in  a  philosophical  manner,  as 
Mr.  Lossing  discusses  them.  *  *  *  It  Is  proper  that  the 
history  of  such  a  contest  should  be  given  in  a  sound 
manner;  and  such  is  the  work  that  Mr.  Lossing  has 
placed  before  his  countrymen,  after  immense  exer- 
tions to  make  it  worthy  of  their  approbation.  That 
they  will  well  appreciate  what  he  has  done  so  thor- 
oughly is  a  thing  of  course.  For  young  persons  who 
would  have  correct  views  of  their  country's  history, 
no  better  book  can  be  named.  Its  minuteness,  its 
liveliness,  its  accuracy,  its  high  tone,  and  its  exhaust- 
ive character,  render  it  a  fine  opening  work  for  youth- 
ful readers,  whose  minds  are  always  injured  by  the 
perusal  of  superficial  histories.  *  *  *  The  volume  is 
perfectly  printed,  no  European  or  American  book  ever 
having  come  from  the  press  in  a  more  elegant  state. 
The  paper  and  the  binding  are  faultless.  In  fact,  the 
book  pleases  the  eye  as  much  as  it  affords  food  for  the 
mind.  It  should  be  in  every  library,  public  and  pri- 
vate, and  in  the  hands  of  all  persons  who  would  un- 
derstand American  history,  and  who  would  acquire 
knowledge  thereof  from  the  highest  available  sources. 
— Boston  Traveller. 

Worthy  of  the  highest  praise  for  its  full  and  vivid 
recital  of  the  stirring  events  on  land  and  sea  that  end- 
ed with  the  Battle  of  New  Orleans,  and  for  its  valua- 
ble summary  of  political  affairs  from  the  close  of  the 
Revolution  to  the  Peace  of  Ghent.— Evening  Post. 


HARTWIG'S  POLAR  WORLD.  The  Polar 
World :  a  Popular  Description  of  Man  and 
Nature  in  the  Arctic  and  Antarctic  Regions 
of  tlie  Globe.  By  Dr.  G.  Hartwig,  Author 
of  "The  Sea  and  its  Living  Wonders,"  "  The 
Harmonies  of  Nature,"  and  "The  Tropical 
World."  With  Additional  Chapters  and  160 
Illustrations  by  the  American  Editor.  Svo, 
Cloth. 

Those  of  our  readers  who  are  acquainted  with  Dr. 
Hartwig's  former  books  on  Physical  Geography,  espe- 
cially his  "Tropical  World,"  will  not  be  disappointed 
by  his  description  of  man  and  nature  in  the  Arctic 
and  Antarctic  regions  of  the  globe.  Whereas  within 
the  tropics  the  variety  and  abundance  of  nature  throw 
man  and  his  works  into  the  shade,  in  the  "Polar 
World"  man  becomes  the  most  important  and  inter- 
esting animal.  A  great  part  of  Dr.  Hartwig's  book  is 
taken  up  with  the  adventures  and  hair-breadth  escapes 
of  discoverei's  by  land  and  sea  —  Norsemen,  Finns, 
Cossacks,  Russians,  Dutch,  English,  and  Americans. 
Among  these,  the  Finn  philologist  Gastrin  is  perhaps 
the  most  interesting.  He  wore  out  his  life  traveling 
across  the  frozen  deserts  of  Northern  Europe  and  Asia, 
from  Lapland  to  liake  Baikal,  studying  the  languages 
of  the  most  remote  tribes,  and  died  soon  after  his  re- 
turn to  the  LTniversity  of  Helsingfors.  Equally  inter- 
esting is  the  account  of  the  Cossack  conquest  of  Sibe- 
ria by  the  adventurous  robber  Yermak  Timodajeff. 
The  book  contains  several  lively  sketches  of  the  na- 
tives of  these  inclement  regions,  including  not  only 
the  Lapps,  Samoyedes,  Jakuts,  etc.,  of  Europe  and 
Asia,  but  also  the  Esquimaux  and  Indians  of  Arctic 
America. — Pall  Mall  Gazette. 


SCOTT'S  FISHING  -  BOOK.  Fishing  in 
American  Waters.  By  Gknio  C.  Scott. 
170  Illustrations.     Crown  Svo,  Cloth,  $3  50. 

Contains  a  vast  amount  of  information  concerning 
the  sea  and  fresh-water  fishes  of  our  American  waters, 
the  various  methods  of  capturing  them,  the  tackle  to 
be  employed,  etc.  Important  in  respect  of  fish-cnlture. 
This  book,  like  the  author  of  it,  is  eminentlv  practi- 
cal, and  every  angler  ought  to  have  it.  We  doubt 
whether  there  is  another  man  in  America  capable  of 
writing  and  illustrating,  as  Mr.  Scott  has  done,  such 
a  book  as  this. — Spirit  of  the  Times. 

The  author  is  a  skillful  votary  of  the  fascinating  art, 
to  which  he  has  given  many  years  of  successful  prac- 
tice, not  only  with  an  unusual  knowlege  of  the  sub- 
ject, but  with  a  keen  sense  of  its  manifold  enjoy- 
ments. *  *  *  Describes  the  principal  varieties  of  tlie 
American  salt  and  fresh  water  fishes,  offers  minute 
directions  for  the  most  feasible  methods  of  capture, 
and  enlivens  his  statements  by  relations  of  personal 
adventures  in  many  waters,  and  picturesque  descrip- 
tions of  nature. — X.  Y.  Tribune. 

The  book  has  certainly  been  got  up  with  painstaking 
care  and  a  devoted  loveof  the  subject,  and  it  unques- 
tionably contains  a  vast  mass  of  valunhle  infirmation 
and  innumerable  useful  directions.— A'.  1'.  Citizen. 


Harper  6^  Brothers'  List  of  New  Books. 


UrilAM'S  IMENTAL  rillLOSOPIlY.  Men- 
tal riiilosophy  ;  embracing  the  Three  Depart- 
ments of  the  Intellect,  Sensibilities,  and  Will. 
By  Thomas  C.  Ui-ham,  D.D.,  Professor  of 
Mental  and  Moral  Philosophy  in  Bowdoin  Col- 
lege. In  Two  Volumes.  Vol.  I. :  Intellect, 
Language  ;  Vol.  II.  :  Sensibilities,  Will. 
l:imo,  Cloth,  %\.  75  per  volume. 

IIAKPER'S  HAND-BOOK  OF  FOREIGN 
TRAVEL.  Harper's  Hand-Book  for  Trav-  j 
ellers  in  Europe  and  the  East.  Being  a  Guide  I 
through  France,  Belgium,  Holland,  Germany,  i 
Austria,  Italy,  Egyjjt,  Syria,  Turkey,  Greece, 
Switzerland,  Tyrol,  Russia,  Denmark,  Swe-  ■ 
den,  Spain,  and  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 
With  a  Railroad  Map  corrected  up  to  1869. 
Bv  W.  Pembkokk  Fetridge.  Revised  Edi- 
tion: Eighth  Year.  Large  12mo,  Leather, 
Pocket-Book  Form,  $7  50. 

HARPER'S  PHRASE-BOOK  ;  or  Hand-Book 
of  Travel  Talk  for  Travellers  and  Schools. 
Being  a  Guide  to  Conversations  in  English, 
French,  German,  and  Italian,  on  a  New  and 
Improved  iSlethod.  Intended  to  accompany 
'■Harper's  Hand-Book  for  Travellers."  By 
W.  Pembroke  Fetridge.  Assisted  by  Pro- 
fessors of  Heidelberg  University.  With  con- 
cise and  explicit  Rules  for  the  Pronunciation 
of  the  difterent  Languages.  Square  ICmo, 
Flexible  Cloth,  $1  50. 

WALLACE'S  MALAY  ARCHIPELAGO. 
The  Malay  Archipelago :  The  Land  of  the 
Orang-Utan  and  the  Bird  of  Paradise.  A 
Narrative  of  Travel,  1 854-1862.  With  Stud- 
ies of  I\Ian  and  Nature.  By  Alfred  Rdssel 
Wallace.  With  Ten  Maps  and  Fifty-one 
Elegant  Illustrations.  Crown  8vo,  Cloth, 
$3  50. 

Mr.  Wallace'si  stvle  is  as  charming  as  Darwin's,  and 
prcater  praise  it  could  not  have.  His  scientific  ob- 
servations are  as  interesting  as  other  people's  adven- 
tures ;  he  is  a  trulv  intellisrent  writer— one  who  has 
the  power  to  interest  others  in  his  pursuits,  investiga- 
tions, and  snecnlations.  Those  who  have  read  Mr. 
Darwin's  "Vovasre  of  a  Naturalist,"  a  book  too  little 
known,  will  fiiid  in  this  a  companion  volume  as  ab- 
sorbindv  interesting  and  as  clear  and  instructive  as 
that.— A'.  Y.  Eveninn  Po/>t. 

In  short,  no  book  of  travels,  adventure,  and  observ- 
.ations  of  onrtime  can  be  pronounced  superior  to  this, 
in  which  Mr.  Wallace  gives  an  accurate  account  of  that 
rich  and  wonderful  part  of  the  globe,  the  great  and 
lavishly-endowed  Malay  Archipelago,  and  which  the 
American  publishers  have  reproduced  in  admirable 
stvle. — lionton  Traveller. 

A  vivid  picture  of  tropical  life,  which  may  be  read 
with  unflagging  interest,  and  a  sufficient  account  of 
his  scientific  conclusions  to  stimulate  our  appetite 
without  wearving  us  by  detail.  In  short,  we  may 
safely  say  that  we  have  seldom  read  a  more  agreeable 
book  of  its  MnA.— Saturday  Review. 

ABBOTT'S  NEW  TESTAMENT  TRUTHS. 

Old  Testament  Shadows  of  New  Testament 
Truths.  By  Lvman  AnnoTT,  Author  of  "Je- 
sus of  Nazarp.th,  his  Life  and  Teachings,"  &c. 
Elegantly  Illustrated.  "Svo,  Cloth.  {Nearly 
Ready. ) 


^\J3B0TT'S  JOSEPH  BONAPARTE.  The 
History  of  Joseph  Bonaparte,  King  of  Naples 
and  of  Italy.  By  John  S.  C.  Abbott,  Au- 
thor of  "The  History  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte," 
"  The  French  Revolution,"  &c.  16mo,  Cloth, 
$1  20.     Uniform  with 

Abbotts'  Illustrated  Histories. 

By  Jacob  Abbott  and  John  S.  C.  Abbott. 
16mo,  Cloth,  $1  20  per  Volume. 


Cyrus  the  Great, 

Darius  the  Great, 

Xerxes, 

Alexander  the  Great, 

Romulus, 

Hannibal, 

Pyrrhus, 

Julius  Caesar, 

Cleopatra, 

Nero, 

Alfred  the  Great, 

William  the  Conqueror, 

Richard  I., 

Richard  II., 


Richard  III., 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots, 
Queen  Ehzabeth, 
Charles  I., 
Charles  II., 
Josephine, 
Maria  Antoinette, 
Madame  Roland, 
Henry  IV., 
Peter  the  Great, 
Genghis  Khan, 
King  Philip, 
Hernando  Cortez, 
Margaret  of  Anjou. 


LOOMIS'S  ASTRONOMY.     Elements  of  As- 
tronomy.    Designed  for  Academies  and  High 
Schools.     By   Elias   Loomis,  LL.D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Natural  Philosophy  and  Astronomy 
in  Yale  College,  and  Author  of  a  "  Course  of 
Mathematics."     ]2mo.  Sheep,  $1  50. 
We  took  up  Prof.  Loomis's  Elements  of  Astronomy, 
confldeut  that  we  should  here  find,  brought  within  the 
comprehension  of  unscientifi*  minds,  the  higher  truths 
of  a  science  whose  grandeur  is  lost  to  the  common 
people  by  the  technicalities  in  which  it  is  enshrined. 
We  have  not  been  disappointed.     We  know  of  no 
treatise  on  Astronomy  to  which  we  should  turn  for 
an  explanation  of  any  of  its  elementary  principles 
with  such  confident  assurance  of  receiving  real  salis- 
fiiction,  and  none  which  we  should  so  soon  place  in 
the  hands  of  a  young  person  who  desired  an  intro- 
duction to  this  study.— Aet«  Monthly  Magazine. 

NEVIUS'S  CHINA.  China  and  the  Chinese : 
a  General  Description  of  the  Country  and  its 
Inhabitants;  its  CiviHzation  and  Form  of 
Government ;  its  Religious  and  Social  Institu- 
tions ;  its  Intercourse  with  other  Nations ;  and 
its  Present  Condition  and  Prospects.  By  the 
Rev.  John  L.  Nevids,  Ten  Years  a  Mission- 
arv  in  China.  With  a  Map  and  Illustrations. 
12ino,  Cloth,  $1  75. 

The  great  merit  of  the  book  seems  to  be  that  it  un- 
dertakes to  tell,  in  a  plain  and  practical  manner,  those 
main  things  which  intelligent  people  desire  to  learn 
about  ChiSa,  its  people,  life,  custom^  religious,  etc., 
.and  does  it  without  encumbering  itself  with  overniuch 
of  detail  or  profundity.  Reading  it  is  much  like  hay- 
ino-  a  series  of  talks  with  a  Chinaman  who  is  able 
freely  to  answer  all  those  questions  which  a  curious 
Yankee  is  prompted  to  ask  about  his  nation,  and  who 
does  so.  We  incline  to  think  it  the  best  book  yet 
published  in  our  language  for  giving  a  general  de- 
.«cription  of  China  and  its  people,  without  being  over- 
burdened in  any  direction  with  details.— Congrega- 
tionalist.  .    ,  .  ^u 

When  Mr.  Nevius  tells  us  about  the  fashions,  the 
ways  of  talking,  shopping,  teaching,  tradiii-,  praying, 
eating,  marrying, burying,  gambling,  reading,  writing, 
which  he  saw  among  them,  he  niake^  the  scenes  lile- 
life  ;  the  interests  treated  he  makes  altogether  human  : 
and" so  he  leads  us  on  in  a  path  almost  as  entertaining 
as  a  journey  of  our  owu.— A".  Y.  Evening  Post. 


Harper  &>  Brothers'  List  of  New  Books. 


ROOSEVELT'S  FIVE  ACRES  TOO  MUCH. 
Five  Acres  Too  Much.  A  Truthful  Elucida- 
tion of  the  Attractions  of  the  Country,  and  a 
Careful  Consideration  of  the  Question  of  Profit 
and  Loss  as  involved  in  Amateur  Farming, 
with  much  Valuable  Advice  and  Instruction 
to  those  about  Purchasing  Large  or  Small 
Places  in  the  Rural  Districts.  By  Robert 
B.  Roosevelt,  Author  of  "Game  Fish  of 
North  America,"  "Superior  Fishing,"  "Game 
Birds, "  &c.  With  Characteristic  Illustrations. 
12mo,  Cloth,  $1  50. 

Oue  of  the  pleasantest  bits  of  satire  we  have  read 
for  some  time.  The  author  has  written  the  book  for 
the  purpose  of  having  a  good-humored  fling  at  the 
writers  of  works  which  profess  to  show  how,  out  of 
half  a  dozen  acres  of  land  any  where,  the  veriest  nov- 
ice cau  make  splendid  profit  and  good  time  as  a  prac- 
tical farmer.  So  Mr.  Roosevelt  tells  us  how,  fired  with 
the  noble  inspiration  these  books  suggest,  he  got  his 
five  acres,  built  his  house,  bought  his  horse,  cows, 
pigs,  and  poultry,  and  went  to  work  to  convert  him- 
self into  a  successful  agriculturist.  His  experiences 
are  very  droll,  and  the  rtuancial  results  he  arrives  at 
highly  ingenious  and  satis.'iictory.  There  is  not  too 
miich  extravagance  in  the  book— just  enough  to  make 
one  laugh,  not  enough  to  convert  the  mirth  into  broad 
farce  aud  grotesquerie. — Independent. 

An  injunction  should  be  put  upon  the  sale  of  this 
book,  for  we  consider  it  a  dangerous  thiug  to  be  let 
loose  upon  the  community.  This  opinion  is  formed 
from  Its  effect  upon  ourselves.  Though  progressive 
in  most  matters,  we  have  some  old  fogy  notions  about 
books,  and  one  of  these  is  to  read  them  before  no- 
ticing them.  We  read  "Five  Acres  Too  Much,"  and 
when  we  laid  it  down  felt  as  lame  and  sore  as  if  we 
had  done  a  hard  day's  work  at  mowing  or  rowing.  Is 
a  book  which  makes  one  laugh  until  he  cries,  laugh 
until  he  is  tired  and  can  not  laugh  any  more,  a  safe 
thing  ?  We  call  the  attention  of  the  Board  of  Health 
to  the  Harpers,  and  give  ours  to  the  book.  It  is  the 
story  of  a  city  lawyer  who  went  to  the  country  to  farm 
it  on  five  acres,  arid  contains  an  account  of  the  blun- 
ders of  a  novice.  There  is  a  perfect  breeze  of  fun 
through  the  whole,  not  boisterous  fun,  but  charming 
and  irresistible,  and  it  is  marked  by  a  genial  appre- 
ciation of  the  ludicrous.  We  have  not  for  a  long  time 
been  so  thorougly  amused  as  in  reading  this  book, 
and  laughed  none  the  less  at  the  gentle  digs  he  gives 
us  as  editors  in  general,  and  of  the  Agriculturist  in 
particular. — American  Agriculturist. 

BOURNE'S  LONDON  MERCHANTS.  Fa- 
mous London  Merchants.  A  Book  for  Boys. 
By  H.  R.  Fox  Bodrne.  With  Portrait  of 
George  Peabody  and  21  Illustrations.     IGmo, 

Cloth,  f  1  00. 

Tells  pleasantly,  and  with  much  casual  information 
about  commerce  and  foreign  countries,  the  story  of 
the  lives  of  thirteen  London  merchants,  from  famous 
Dick  Whittington  to  our  honored  countryman,  George 
Peabody.  Most  of  them  were  self-made  men,  and 
surely  no  better  incentives  to  a  proper  ambition  can 
be  placed  before  boys  than  these  simple  stories  of 
real  and  honored  lives. '  It  is  a  book,  too,  which  bovs 
will  seize  upon  gladly,  since  it  allows  the  subjects  to 
speak  for  themselves,  and  attempts  no  moralizing. 
We  know  of  no  book  which  a  father  could  better  buy 
for  his  boys.— xV.  Y.  Evening  Mail. 

GUICCIOLI'S  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  LORD 
BYRON.  My  Recollections  of  Lord  Byron  : 
and  those  of  Eye-Witnesses  of  his  Life.  By 
the  Countess  Guiccioli.  Translated  by  Hu- 
bert E.  H.  Jerningham.  Portrait,  12mo, 
Cloth,  $1  75. 

This  book  is  of  great  value ;  for  it  collects  the  va- 
rious opinions  of  Lord  Byron's  biographers,  presents 
them  at  one  glance,  illustrates  them  by  the  lef^ters  and 
journal  of  the  poet  hira«elf,  and  subjects  them  to  a 
final  criticism.— PafJ  Mall  Gazette. 


FLAGG'S      EUROPEAN     VINEYARDS. 

Three  Seasons  in  Euroi)ean  Vineyards. 
Treating  of  Vine-Culture  ;  Vine  Disease  and 
its  Cure ;  Wine-Making  and  Wines,  Red  and 
White;  Wine-Drinking,  as  affecting  Health 
and  Morals.  By  William  J.  Flagg.  li'mo. 
Cloth,  $1  50. 

A  ple.isant,  gossipy  book  of  travels  through  those 
portions  of  France  rarely  visited  by  tourists,  with 
fresh  pictures,  touches  of  historical  lore,  glimpses  of 
ancient  chateaux  buried  in  trees,  of  the  queer  charac- 
ters one  meets  with  in  a  diligence,  of  rural  amuse- 
ments, of  firesides  in  the  inn  kitchens,  of  quaint  cus- 
toms and  odd  sayings,  aud  all  related  in  a  simple  and 
natural  way,  with  here  and  there  a  touch  of  humor, 
must  .always  be  acceptable  to  the  general  reader.  He 
holds  the  book  lightly  in  his  hand,  as  if  he  could  lay 
it  down  at  any  moment ;  but  he  does  not  lay  it  down — 
a  smile  lingers  on  his  lips,  and  he  enjoys  it  to  the  last 
page.  *  *  *  Such  a  book  is  the  one  now  before  us, 
and  if  this  were  its  only  merit,  we  should  say  no  more. 
But  interwoven  with  the  narrative  of  travel  arc  some 
suggestions,  hints,  and  thoughts  drawn  from  acute  ob- 
servation, which  enhance  the  value  of  the  book  ten — 
or  rather  ten  times  ten — fold.  His  theme  is,  Vine-Cul- 
ture iu  Europe.  His  object  is  to  use  the  long  experi- 
ence of  the  old  world  in  this  branch  of  science  for  the 
promotion  of  Vine-Culture  in  America.  Thus,  like  a 
true  master,  he  makes  his  narrative  pleasant  to  attract 
readers,  his  description  of  Vine-Culture  in  Europe 
minute,  accurate,  and  valuable  ;  and  the  application 
of  his  suggestions  to  our  own  methods  of  this  grow- 
ing branch  of  home  industry  he  leaves  to  the  sagacity 
of  the  reader  to  use  or  to  improve  upon.  *  *  *  There 
is  probably  no  person  better  qualified  in  this  country 
to  write  upon  this  s\\bie.ci.— Evening  Post. 

Besides  being  a  summary  of  useful  information  con- 
cerning the  produce  of  the  grape,  the  present  book 
contains  an  extremely  pleasant  sketch  of  travel,  inter- 
spersed with  reflections  of  much  interest  aud  observa- 
tions of  considerable  originality,  afi"ording  a  picture 
of  a  certain  phase  of  French  life  unknown  and  unseen 
by  ordinary  tourists.  It  is  full  of  that  kind  of  enter- 
taining reading  which  Sir  Philip  Sidney  styles  "tri- 
fles triflingly  handled ;"  and  congenial  fancy  kindles 
over  descriptions  of  the  beautiful  scenery,  the  oddities 
of  local  customs,  the  luxurious  vineyards,  the  genial 
atmosphere,  "the  incense  of  fruitful  summer,  the  in- 
cense of  fruit-time,"  the  village  feasts  and  pastimes, 
and,  rarest  of  all,  the  happy  peasantry,  not  yet  ren- 
dered unhappy  by  demagogues  and  visionaries.— 
Round  Table. 

A  livelier,  racier,  more  entertaining  volume  on  a 
practical  subject  has  not  yet  been  written.  Mr.  Flagg 
shows  such  a  hearty  delight  in  his  subject  that  the 
most  indifferent  reader  can  not  escape  the  infection  ; 
while  all  his  willful,  irrepressible  play  of  humor,  his 
flashes  of  personal  tastes  and  prejudices,  his  occasion- 
al misconceptions  of  character  and  customs,  leave  un- 
touched the  sharp,  clear  perception,  and  shrewd  com- 
mon-sense which  form  the  staple  of  the  book. — A',  y. 
Tribune. 


WHYMPER'S  ALASKA.  Travel  and  Adven- 
ture in  the  Territory  of  Alaska,  formerly  Rus- 
sian America,  now  Ceded  to  the  United  States 
— and  in  various  other  Parts  of  the  North  Pa- 
cific. By  Frederick  Whtmper.  Map  and 
Illustrations.     Crown  8vo,  Cloth,  $2  50. 

This  agreeable  book  of  travel  and  adventure.  *  *  * 
The  purchase  of  Alaska  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment has  awakened  a  lively  interest  in  that  region  ; 
aud  whatever  relates  to  its  natural  features,  its  inhab- 
itants, its  existing  state,  and  its  possible  resources, 
comes  to  us  with  the  two-fold  charm  of  novelty  and 
material  interest.  Mr.  Whymper  was  able  to  take 
with  him  the  requisite  qualifications  for  breaking 
ground  in  that  new  and,  in  many  respects,  rough  and 
uncivilized  quarter,  as  the  results  of  his  exploration 
in  the  clearly-written  and  cleverly-illustrated  volume 
before  us  testify.  *  *  *  AH  that  is  most  original  and 
striking  iu  his  narrative  centres  in  his  experiences  of 
life  in  the  lately-ceded  territory,  and  in  the  estimate 
which  his  graphic  pictures  of  its  physical  aspects  and 
of  its  people  encourage  us  to  draw  for  the  future.— 
Saturday  Review. 


Harper  6-  Brothers'  List  of  New  Books. 


THE  STUDENT'S  OLD  TESTAMENT  HIS- 
TORY. The  Old  Testament  History.  From 
the  Creation  to  the  Keturn  of  the  Jews  from 
Captivity.  Edited  by  Wm.  Smith,  LL.D. 
With  Maps  and  Woodcuts.  Large  12mo, 
Cloth,  %2  00.  (Uniform  with  the  Student's 
New  Testament  History.) 

The  history  of  the  Jews  is  here  told  in  a  better  man- 
ner than  in  any  other  work  of  the  same  size,  and  all 
the  results  of  the  deep  and  accurate  inquiries  into  that 
history  are  incorporated  with  the  narrative.  It  is,  in- 
deed, a  popular,  though  grave  and  learned  commenta- 
ry on  the  Old  Testament,  a  commentary  taking  the 
form  of  regular  historical  writing,  and  written  with 
force  and  clearness.— Bostow  Traveller. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  text  it  is  evident  that  great 
care  has  been  taken  to  render  the  work  one  that,  while 
reverent  and  recognizing  the  sanctity  and  claims  of 
Revelation,  should  be  suitable  for  the  characteristic 
criticism  and  exegesis  of  the  age.  It  is  an  excellent 
condensation  of  nearly  all  the  valuable  matter  that 
criticism,  historical,  ethnographical,  topographical, 
and  chronological  investigations  have  accumulated 
round  the  Old  Testament  Word  of  God.— Presbyterian 
(Chicago). 

THE  STUDENT'S  NEW  TESTAMENT 
HISTORY.  The  New  Testament  History. 
With  an  Introduction,  connecting  the  History 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  Edited  by 
William  Sjiith,  LL.D.,  Classical  Examiner 
in  the  University  of  London.  With  Maps  and 
Woodcuts.  Large  12mo,  780  pages,  Cloth, 
$2  00. 

A  valuable  and  cheap  compendium  of  accurate  in- 
formation drawn  from  the  most  recent  results  of 
scholarship.— vidaawce. 

Those  who  have  read  the  New  Testament  only  in  a, 
desultory  fashion,  or  in  the  disorderly  method  in  which 
it  is  arra'nged  in  our  version,  will  find  a  new  light  cast 
upon  it  bv  the  study  of  the  Book  in  its  chronological 
order,  and  with  such  helps  as  Dr.  Smith  has  here  pre- 
sented.—^m^rican  Presbyterian  (Philadelphia). 

Sabbath-school  teacher's,  and  the  more  advanced  pu- 
pils of  Sabbath-schools,  as  well  as  intelligent  private 
students  of  the  Scriptures,  will  find  this  a  helpful  and 
remunerative  volume.— Congregationalist. 


HALPINE'S  POEMS.  (MILES  O'REILLY.) 
The  Poetical  Works  of  Charlfs  G.  Halpine 
(Miles  O'Reilly).  Consisting  of  Odes,  Poems, 
Sonnets,  Epics,  and  Lyrical  Effusions  which 
have  not  heretofore  been  collected  together. 
With  a  Biographical  Sketch  and  Explanatory 
Notes.  Edited  by  Robert  B.  Roosevelt. 
Portrait  on  Steel.     Crown  8vo,  Cloth,  $2  50. 

His  poetry  will  not  be  soon  neglected  or  forgotten. 
There  is  a  charm  about  his  verses  which  must  make 
them  ever  welcome.  Tenderness,  sentiment,  aud  hu- 
mor al)onnd  in  them;  the  absence  of  malice  or  bitter- 
ness is  characteristic  of  the  writer's  whole-souled  na- 
ture. •  •  *  Few  can  read  the  poems  without  pleasure- 
none  can  read  them  without  interest.— A'.  Y.  Herald. 

MRS.  HALE'S    WOMAN'S    RECORD;    or, 

Biographical  Sketches  of  all  Distinguished 
Women,  from  the  Creation  to  the  Present 
Time.  Arranged  in  Four  Eras,  with  Selec- 
tions from  Female  Writers  of  each  Era.  By 
Mrs.  S.  J.  Hale.  Illustrated  with  more  than 
200  Portraits,  engraved  by  Benson  J.  Lossing. 
A  New  Edition,  with  Additions.  8vo,  Cloth. 
(Nearly  Ready.) 


HAYDN'S  DICTIONARY  OF  DATES,  re- 
lating to  all  Ages  and  Nations.  For  Univers- 
al Reference.  Edited  by  Benjamin  Vincent, 
Assistant  Secretary  and  Keeper  of  the  Libra- 
ry of  the  Royal  Institution  of  Great  Britain  ; 
and  Revised  for  the  Use  of  American  Readers. 
8vo,  Cloth.      {Nearly  Ready.) 


HAVEN'S  RHETORIC.  Rhetoric  :  a  Text- 
Book,  designed  for  Use  in  Schools  and  Col- 
leges, and  for  Private  Study.  By  Rev.  E.  O. 
Haven,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President  of  the  North- 
western University,  Evanston,  and  late  Piesi- 
dent  of  Michigan  University.  12mo,  Cloth, 
$1  50. 

I  welcome  the  book  heartily,  and  shall  adopt  it  in 
my  classes  here. 

Dr.  Haveu  seems  to  me  to  have  aimed  to  produce  a 
useful  book  rather  than  a  showy  one.  Too  many  who 
deal  with  the  subject  are  only  theoretical  rhetoricians: 
on  every  page  of  Dr.  Haven's  book  I  find  the  good  ef- 
fects of  his  being  also  a  practical  rhetorician.  Hit- 
ting the  happy  mean  between  the  excess  and  the  total 
rejection  of  the  old  technical  phraseology,  he  has  giv- 
en to  us  a  series  of  just  such  sensible,  suggestive,  and 
helpful  talks  about  writing  and  speaking  the  English 
language  as  one  would  expect  from  a  man  of  his  great 
experience  as  a  speaker,  writer,  and  teacher.  Tills, 
after  all,  is  precisely  what  American  students  need. 

Upon  the  whole,  the  book  has  these  great  merits : 
it  is  a  growth,  and  not  a  manufacture  ;  it  is  fresh,  sin- 
cere, lively,  clear,  practical;  finally,  instead  of  being, 
like  so  many  text-books  on  this  subject,  dry  and  dead- 
ening, it  will  prove  throughout  positively  interesting 
to  the  student— it  will  stimulate,  cheer,  .iiid  guide  him. 
— MosKS  CoiT  Taylor,  M.A.,  }'ri\fesmr  of  Rhetoricand 
English  Literature,  University  of  Michiijan. 

Concise,  direct,  lucid,  and  arranged  in  a  natural  or- 
der of  topics.- Advance. 

This  book,  by  President  Haven,  had  its  growth  in 
a  class-room.  This  accounts  for  its  character,  which 
is  decidedly  practical.  It  is  no  high-flying  treatise  or 
deeply-profound  discussion  on  this  subject  of  rhetoric. 
It  is  plain  and  concise,  and  every  way  a  good  state- 
ment of  those  principles  and  rules  which  must  be  ob- 
served in  order  to  a  correct  and  happy  expression  of 
one's  thoughts  and  ieeMn^S:— Watchman  and  Reflector . 

I  have  carefully  read  "Haven's  Rhetoric."  It  is  a 
good  elementary  book,  and  has  the  merit  of  present- 
ing many  new  illustrations  instead  of  the  hackneyed 
quotations  usually  found  in  compilations.— Wm.  Pkes- 
TON  JoriNSTON,  Professor  of  History  and  English  Liter- 
ature, Washington  College,  Va. 


WOOD'S  WEDDING  DAY  IN  ALL  AGES. 
The  Wedding  Day  in  all  Ages  and  Countries. 
By  Edward  J.  Wood,  Author  of  "  The  Cu- 
riosities of  Clocks  and  Watches  from  the  Ear- 
liest Times,"  and  "Giants  and  Dwaifs." 
12mo,  Cloth,  $1  25. 

One  of  the  most  curious  books  we  have  seen  for  a 
long  time.  It  is  packed  full  of  facts.  Beginning  with 
the  institution  of  marriage,  the  author  successively 
treats  of  all  the  strange  aud  picturesque  customs  by 
which  different  peoples  have  given  character  aud  in- 
terest to  the  marriage  ceremony.  The  past  has  been 
ransacked,  and  the  present  investigated.  History, 
poetry,  philosophy,  archaeology,  have  all  been  drawn 
upon,  and  the  result  is  one  of  the  most  entertaining 
books  we  have  seen  for  a  long  time.— lY.  Y.  Commer- 
cial A  dvertiser. 

A  compilation  of  historical  facts  relating  to  the  mar- 
riao-e  ceremonv  as  it  has  been  conducted  in  ancient 
anJ  modern  times  among  all  the  peoples  of  the  earth. 
A  great  deal  of  antiquarian  research  has  been  expend- 
ed upon  it,  and  the  curious  reader  will  find  the  topics 
of  the  wedding  ring,  the  marriage  bells,  the  bridal 
cake,  flinging  the  old  shoe,  etc.,  etc.,  fully  treated  by 
the  author.— jV.  Y.  Evening  Post. 


Harper  &'  Brothers'  List  of  New  Books. 


MARCH'S  PARSER  AND  ANALYZER.  A 

Purser  and  Analyzer  for  Beginners,  with  Dia- 
grams and  Suggestive  Pictures.  By  Francis 
A.  March,  Professor  of  the  English  Language 
and  Comparative  Philology  in  Lafayette  Col- 
lege, Author  of  "Method  of  Philological  Study 
of  the  English  Language,"  "Comparative 
Grammar  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Language," 
&c.     16mo,  Flexible  Cloth,  40  cents. 

The  volume  is  small,  but  compact  and  serviceable. 
Its  design  is  to  introduce  beginners  to  the  laws  of  the 
English  Language  by  appealing  directly  to  their  ra- 
tional powers,  and  as  little  as  possible  to  memory. 
It  abolishes  mere  recitation,  and  makes  the  work  of 
learning  more  nearly  recreative  than  any  attempt  yet 
brought  to  our  notice.  The  teacher  can  easily  per- 
ceive its  scope  and  purpose.  It  will  not  relieve  him 
of  care,  but  will  so  change  his  duty  that,  instead  of 
sitting  and  hearing  tasks,  he  will  be  called  upon  to 
stimulate  and  guide  development.  The  work  unites 
the  pupil  and  teacher  in  their-  theme,  and  the  pro- 
cesses of  teaching  and  learning  take  an  identity  which 
does  away  with  estrangement  and  begets  naturalness. 
It  combines  all  the  benefits  of  object-teaching,  by  full- 
ness of  illustration,  with  that  active  inquiry  common 
to  youth  when  matters  touching  history,  biography, 
geography,  or  every-day  occurrences  are  suggested. 
It  is  more  and  more  seen  that  the  duty  of  education 
is  to  bring  the  pupil  into  direct  relation  with  thtngs, 
that  he  may  reflect  or  exercise  judgment  upon  them. 
The  lessons  or  suggestions  in  this  work  are  so  ar- 


with  healthful  development.  *  *  *  A  look  into  it  will 
prove  almost  as  profitable  as  a  glance  at  nature.  They 
can  learn  without  memorizing  to  a  harmful  extent, 
and  what  they  learn  will  not  be  forgotten.  We  com- 
mend the  work  to  general  attention  upon  its  merits. 
Its  author  is  one  of  the  first  philologists  in  the  land, 
and  no  man  has  a  keener  appreciation  of  our  lan- 
guage, or  understands  better  the  true  methods  of  in- 
troducing the  young  mind  to  its  beauties.— PAz'iadei- 
phia  Press. 

Beginning  with  the  definitions  of  simple  nouns,  the 
lessons  ascend  by  easy  stages  to  the  highest  form  of 
grammatical  construction.  The  diagram  analysis  and 
illustrations  are  admirable  aids  to  the  student  in  the 
lessons,  impressing  them  upon  the  mind.— X  V.  Her- 
ald, 


BARNES'S    NOTES    ON    THE    PSALMS. 

Notes,  Critical,  Explanatory,  and  Practical, 
on  the  Book  of  Psalms.  By  Alhert  Barnes, 
Author  of  "Notes  on  the  New  Testament," 
"Lectures  on  the  Evidences  of  Christianity," 
&c.  Three  Volumes,  12mo,  Cloth,  $1  50 
per  volume. 

*  *  *  There  is  the  same  blending  of  the  critical  and 
the  practical,  with  constant  expression  of  devout  feel- 
ings and  sentiments,  which,  in  a  work  on  the  Psalms, 
is  peculiarly  congruous  witli  the  book  which  Mr. 
Barnes  is  interpreting. — Presbyterian  (Philadelphia). 

These  Notes  on  the  Psalms  are  characterized  by  the 
excellences  which  made  Mr.  Barnes's  earlier  exposi- 
tory works  so  eminently  successful.— -.American  Pres- 
hyterian. 

BALDWIN'S  PRE -HISTORIC  NATIONS. 

Pre-Historic  Nations;  or.  Inquiries  concern- 
ing some  of  the  Great  Peoples  and  Civiliza- 
tions of  Antiquity,  and  their  Probable  Rela- 
tion to  a  still  Older  Civilization  of  the  Ethio- 
pians or  Cushites  of  Arabia.'  By  John  D. 
Baldwin,  Member  of  the  American  Oriental 
Society.     l2mo,  Cloth,  $1  75. 

Mr.  Baldwin  has  treated  an  interesting  subject  with 
great  lucidity  and  breadth,  while  his  reading  and  re- 
search are  apparent  on  every  page.— Examiner  and 
London  Review. 

Both  instructive  and  enggestive.— Aa^ioji. 


SIGHTS  AND  SENSATIONS  in  France, 
Germany,  and  Switzerland ;  or,  Experiences 
of  an  American  Journalist  in  Europe.  By 
Edward  Gould  Buffum,  Author  of  "Six 
Months  in  the  Gold  Mines,"  &c.  12mo, 
Cloth,  $1  50. 

•  •  •  A  book  at  once  entertaining  and  instructive. 
•  •  *  Fashionable  tourists  who  are  leaving  this  port 
for  a  trip  to  Europe  will  find  Mr.  Buffum's  "Sights 
and  Sensations  in  France,  Germany,  and  Switzerland" 
a  delightful  and  serviceable  traveling  companion.  At 
the  same  time  the  thousands  who  are  to  spend  the 
summer  at  home,  either  in  town,  in  the  country,  or  on 
the  sea-shore,  may,  by  the  help  of  this  little  book,  en- 
joy many  of  the  pleasures  of  foreign  travel  while  they 
escape  its  annoyances.  *  *  *  It  witl  doubtless  be  more 
heartily  welcomed  by  the  public  than  any  similar  work 
which  has  appeared. — N.  Y.  Herald. 

A  refreshing  and  entertaining  book,  which  will  in- 
terest every  body. — N.  Y.  Evening  Mail. 

Mr.  Bufl'um's  style  is  remarkably  good  and  graphic, 
and  his  descriptions  df  the  scenes  he  has  witnessed 
are  among  the  best  we  have  seen— so  simple,  ani- 
mated, and  to  the  point.  He  seems  to  have  had  a 
genius  for  observation  and  the  happy  management 
of  facts,  and  every  thing  he  sees  is  distinctly  seen  by 
the  reader  as  well.— iV.  Y.  Times. 

It  difiers  from  the  common  run  of  books  of  modern 
travel  by  looking  at  life  from  a  more  practical — it 
might  be  said,  literal— side,  and  by  describing  things 
not  often  touched  in  a  sparkling  and  instructive  way. 
~Co7iriregatio7ialist. 

It  is  one's  self  walking  about,  as  it  were,  and  say- 
ing these  things  in  his  own  ears  with  unexpected  and 
most  admired  cleverness.  The  story  of  the  Mont  Ce- 
nis  Tnnnel  is  quite  the  best  description  of  that  incredi- 
ble miracle  which  has  fallen  under  our  observation. 
Baden-Baden  and  Homburg  seem  as  familiar  to  us, 
on  this  bright  traveler's  introduction,  as  Long  Branch 
or  Rockaway,  and  much  more  interesting.  —  N,  Y. 
Tribune. 


MOTLEY'S  DUTCH  REPUBLIC.  The  Rise 
of  the  Dutch  Republic.  A  History.  By  John 
LoTHROP  MoTLEt,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.  With  a 
Portrait  of  William  of  Orange.  New  Edition. 
3  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $10  50. 


MOTLEY'S    UNITED    NETHERLANDS. 

History  of  the  United  Netherlands  :  from  the 
Death  of  William  the  Silent  to  the  Twelve 
Years'  Truce— 1609.  With  a  full  View  of 
the  English-Dutch  Struggle  against  Spain, 
and  of  the  Origin  and  Destruction  of  the 
Spanish  Armada.  By  John  Lothrop  Mot- 
ley, LL.D..  D.C.L.  New  Edition.  4  vols., 
8vo,  Cloth,  $14  00. 

GREENWOOD'S  SEVEN  CURSES  OF  LON- 
DON. The  Seven  Curses  of  London.  By 
James  Greenwood,  the  "Amateur  Casual," 
Author  of  "The  True  History  of  a  Little 
Ragamuffin,"  "Reuben  Davidger,"  "Wild 
Sports  of  the  World,"  &c.  8vo,  P.aper,  25 
cents. 

James  Greenwood,  the  "Amateur  Casual,"  whose 
revelations  of  "  A  Night  in  a  Workhouse  "  created  so 
much  excitement  in  England  two  or  three  years  since, 
in  "The  Seven  Curses^  of  London"  discloses  many 
startling  facts  concerning  the  social  life  of  the  lower 
classes.  The  seven  curses  treated  of  by  the  author 
are :  I.  NeL'lected  Children ;  II.  Professional  Thieves ; 
III.  Professional  Beggars :  IV.  Fallen  Women  ;  V.  The 
Curse  of  Drunkenness ;  VI.  Betting  Gamblers ;  VII. 
Waste  of  Charity. 


Harper  dr'  Brothers'  List  of  New  Books. 


ABBOTT'S    LIFE   OF   CHRIST.     Jesus  of 
Nazareth:  his  Life  and  Teachings;  founded 
on  the  Four  Gospels,  and  Illustrated  by  Ref- 
erence to  the   Manners,  Customs,  ReUgious 
Beliefs,  and  Tolitical  Institutions  of  his  Times. 
By  Lyman  Abbott.     With  Designs  by  Dore, 
De  Laroche,  Fenn,  and  others.     Crown  8vo, 
Cloth,  Beveled  Edges,  $3  50. 
This  is  remarkable  for  its  valuable  endeavors,  first 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  intelligent  comprehension 
of  the  life  of  ihe  Kedeemer,  by  four  preliminary  chap- 
ters, which  discuss  :  (1)  the  peculiarities,  phyuical  and 
otherwise,  of  the  Holy  Land  itself;   (2)  the  Jewish 
Commonwealth,  its  religious  sanctions  and  moral  pre- 
cepts, its  judicial  peculiarities,  its  measure  of  popular 
education,  its  political  ecouomy,  its  national  Church, 
and  its  Scriptures;  (3)  the  decay  of  that  Common- 
wealth, the  captivity,  and  the  Roman  subjugation ; 
(4)  the  civilization  of  the  Jews,  and  the  whole  manner 
of  their  dress,  food,  manners,  pursuits,  and  daily  life. 
The  way  thus  being  prepared,  and  the  background 
painted  in,  the  Christ  is  outlined  and  then  colored 
upon  it,  from  Bethlehem  to  Calvary.    Second,  for  the 
extremely  fresh  and  interesting  way  in  which  the 
events  of  Christ's  life  are  told.    And  third,  for  the 
temper  of  the  book,  which  is  unaffectedly  written 
from  the  Christian  staud-point,  as  Kenan's  was  from 
that  of  rationalism.— Co»i<;r«(;oh'o?z«hs«. 

The  simplicity  of  the  plau  specially  pleases  me.  Yet 
you  really  accomplish,  in  its  execution,  more  than  I 
find  in  some  other  lives  of  Christ  which  make  a  good 
deal  more  pretension.  You  have  hit  upon  a  very  valu- 
able combination  of  Biblical  resources  with  researches 
in  related  fields.  It  is  a  real  pleasure  to  be  able  to 
turn  to  a  life  of  Christ  which  stimulates  thought  and 
refreshes  the  heart. — Prof.  Austin  Phelps,  of  Andover. 

BEECIIER'S  (HENRY  WARD)  SERMONS. 
Sermons  by  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  Ply- 
mouth Church,  Brooklyn.    Selected  from  Pub- 
lished and  Unpublished  Discourses,  and  Re- 
vised by  their  Author.     In  two  Volumes,  with 
Steel  Portrait  by  Halpin.     8vo,  Cloth,  $5  00. 
The  published  sermons  of  the  Plymouth  pastor,  like 
wind-wafted  seed,  have  carried  the  germs  of  a  new 
life  to  all  quarters  of  the  world,  and  have  awakened 
the  immortal  longings  of  the  hunter  in  his  prairie 
cabin,  and  the  sailor  on  the  distant  sea.    No  one  needs 
that  we  should  speak  of  the  exuberance  of  illustration 
and  the  felicity  of  expression  that  make  these  books 
as  fasciuating  as  the  pages  of  old  Thomas  Fuller  or 
the  essays  of  "Elia."    Every  body  has  come  under 
the  glamour  of  Mr.  Beecher's  style,  and  every  one  of 
these  pages  abounds  in  his  peculiar  beauties.    Here 
is  no  garden,  but  (according  to  the  author's  own  lav- 
ish idea  of  the  desirable)  a  whole  prairie  of  flowers.— 
iV.  Y.  Times. 

Judged  as  the  free  utterance  of  a  great  and  loving 
heart,  as  the  spontaneous  appeals  of  a  powerful,  emo- 
tional man,  striving  with  all  his  strength  to  lift  his 
hearers  from  the  dominion  of  sin  and  sorrow  to  the 
highest  and  noblest  plane  of  human  feeling  and  ac- 
tion, their  wisdom  and  healthful  influence  will  be  ap- 
preciated :  while  their  usefulness  will  be  increased  by 
the  fact  that  to  so  many  readers  the  written  word  will 
be  vivified  by  the  recollection  of  the  ringing  voice,  the 
vehement  action,  and  the  vast  amount  of  magnetic 
energy  which  lies  enchained  and  inspired  withm  the 
auditorium  of  Plymouth  Church.— iV.  Y.  Evening  Post. 

YONGE'S  ENGLISH  -  GREEK  LEXICON: 

Containing  all  the  Greek  Words  used  by  Writ- 
ers of  good  Authority,  in  Chronological  Order, 
for  every  Word  used ;  explaining  the  Con- 
struction, and  giving  the  Declension  or  Con- 
jugation of  each  Word  when  Irregular,  and 
marking  the  Quantities  of  all  Doubtful  Sylla- 
bles. Edited,  with  large  Additions,  by  Henry 
Drisler,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Latin  in  Co- 
lumbia College,  N.  Y.  Royal  8vo,  Sheep  ex- 
tra.    (In  Press.) 


ROMANCE  OF  SPANISH  HISTORY.  By 
JoKN  S.  C.  Abbott,  Author  of  "'The  French 
Kevolution,"  "The  History  of  Napoleon  Bo- 
naparte," &c.  With  Illustrations.  12mo, 
Cloth,     (In  Press.) 

SANDS'S  PHILOSOPHY  OF  TEACHING. 

The  Teacher,  the  Pupil,  the  School.     By  Na- 
thaniel Sands.     8vo,  Cloth,  $1  00. 

A  thoughtful  book  on  a  subject  of  the  highest  im- 
portance.—JKorcester  Spy. 

There  are  many  excellent  suggestions  in  this  little 
treatise  of  Mr.  Sands,  who  has  evidently  given  much 
thought  to  the  philosophy  and  the  process  of  educa- 
tion. He  would  have  a  radical  change  in  the  system 
of  teaching,  by  which  there  shall  be  less  stufling  and 
more  feeding ;  fewer  books,  and  more  of  the  living 
instructor's  effort.  It  is  a  small  volume,  but  compact 
with  thought. — Kew  Bedford  Mercury. 

*  *  *  Contains  many  valuable  suggestions  deserving 
of  earnest  consideration  by  parents  and  teachers.  The 
work  of  the  teacher  is  a  high,  honorable,  and  import- 
ant one.  Education  is  essential  to  the  stability  of  our 
institutions  and  the  success  of  our  industries.  Mr. 
Sands  would  develop,  not  cram  the  intellect ;  he  would 
furnish  the  nutriment  necessary  to  the  natural  growth 
of  the  mind,  not  retard  it  by  a  forcing  process.  He 
woufd  place  before  the  scholar  the  aliment  of  every- 
day life.  He  would  teach  him  practical  science  and 
useful  art.  He  would  open  before  him  the  beauties 
of  the  world,  and  show  him  the  laws  of  growth  every 
where.  We  are  told  now  that  dead  languages  are  nec- 
essary to  the  discipline  of  the  mind,  and  so  we  gO 
back  among  the  catacombs  and  study  the  laws  of 
speech  of  the  ancient  departed.  These  laws  are  nec- 
essary. Linguistic  science  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
in  the  world.  But  why  should  it  be  made  the  basis  of 
educational  systems?  It  is  time  that  scientific  train- 
ing should  be  awarded  the  high  place  which  of  right 
belongs  to  it  in  mental  culture,  and  that  linguistic 
lore  should  be  left  to  its  proper  sphere,  as  the  founda- 
tion simply  of  the  knowledge  of  language  and  the  re- 
lations of  nations. — Albany  Evening  Journal. 


DIXON'S  HER  MAJESTY'S  TOWER.     Her 

Majesty's  Tower.  Historic  Studies  in  the 
Tower  of  London.  With  Frontispiece  Plan 
of  the  Tower.  By  Wm.  Hepworth  Dixon. 
12mo,  Cloth,  60  cents. 

A  valuable  and  attractive  addition  to  our  historical 
literature:  one  which,  from  the  nature  of  its  materials 
and  its  bright  and  vivid  method  of  treatment,  is  cer- 
tain to  interest  as  well  as  to  instruct  the  reader.— 
London  Review. 

From  first  to  last,  this  volume  overflows  with  new 
information  and  original  thought,  with  poetry  aud 
picture.  In  these  fascinating  pages  Mr.  Dixon  dis- 
charares  alternately  the  functions  of  the  historian  and 
the  historic  biographer,  with  the  insight,  art,  humor, 
and  accurate  knowledge  which  never  fail  him.— 
Mor7iing  Post. 

THOMSON'S  (W.  M.)  LAND  AND  BOOK. 
The  Land  and  the  Book  ;  or.  Biblical  Illus- 
trations drawn  from  the  Manners  and  Cus- 
toms, the  Scenes  and  the  Scenery  of  the  Holy 
Land.  By  W.  M.  Thomson,  D.D.,  Twenty- 
five  Years  a  Missionary  of.the  A.B.C.F.M.  in 
Syria  and  Palestine.  With  two  elaborate  Maps 
of  Palestine,  an  accurate  Plan  of  Jerusalem, 
and  several  Hundred  Encjravings.,  rejnesent- 
ing  the  Scenery,  Topography,  and  Productions 
of  the  Holy  Land,  and  the  Costumes,  Man- 
ners, and  Habits  of  the  People.  Two  elegant 
Large  12mo  Volumes,  Cloth,  $5  00.  yNew 
Edition,  just  Ready.) 


VALUABLE  STANDARD  WORKS 

FOR  PUBLIC  AND  PPJYATE  LIBRARIES, 

Published  by  HAEPER  &  BPOTHEKS,  New  York. 


For  a  full  List  of  Books  suitable  for  Libraries,  see  Harper  &  Brothers'  Trade-List  awfZ  Catalogtte,  which 

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Harper  &  Brotheks  will  send  any  of  the  following  works  by  mail,  postage  prepaid,  to  any  part  of  the 
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MOTLEY'S  DUTCH  KEPUBLIC.  The  Rise  of  the 
Dutch  Rei)ublic.  A  History.  By  John  Lothrop 
Motley,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.  With  a  Portrait  of  William 
of  Orange.     3  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $10  50. 

MOTLEY'S  UNITED  NETHERLANDS.  History  of 
the  United  Netherlands :  from  the  Death  of  William 
the  Silent  to  the  Twelve  Years'  Truce— 1609.  With 
a  full  View  of  the  English-Dutch  Struggle  against 
Spain,  and  of  the  Origin  and  Destruction  of  the 
Spanish  Armada.  By  John  Loturop  Motley,  LL.D., 
D.C.L.,  Author  of  "The  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Repub- 
lic."   Portraits.    4  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $14  00. 

ABBOTT'S  LIFE  OF  CHRIST.  Jesus  of  Nazareth  : 
his  Life  and  Teachings ;  Pounded  on  the  Four  Gos- 
pels, and  Illustrated  by  Reference  to  the  Manners, 
Customs,  Religious  Beliefs,  and  Political  Institu- 
tions of  his  Times.  By  Lyman  Aishott.  With  De- 
signs by  Dore,  De  Laroche,  Penn,  and  others.  Crown 
8vo,  Cloth,  Beveled  Edges,  $3  50. 

NAPOLEON'S  LIFE  OF  C^SAR.    The  History  of 
Julius  Caesar.     By  His  Imperial  Majesty  Napoleon 
III.    Volumes  I.  and  II.  now  ready.    Library  Edi- 
tion, Svo,  Cloth,  $3  50  per  vol. 
Maps  to  Vols.  I.  and  11.  sold  separately.    Price  $1  50 
each,  NET. 

HENRY  WARD  BEECHER'S  SERMONS.  Sei-mons 
by  Henky  Ward  Beeouer,  Plymouth  Church,  Brook- 
lyn. Selected  from  Published  and  Unpublished  Dis- 
courses, and  Revised  by  their  Author.  With  Steel 
Portrait  by  Halpin.  Complete  in  Two  Vols.,  Svo, 
Cloth,  $5  00. 

LYMAN     BEECHER'S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY,    &o. 

Autobiography,  Correspondence,  Ac,  of  Lyman 
Beecher,  D.D.  Edited  by  his  Son,  Charles  Beeou- 
er. With  Three  Steel  Portraits,  and  Engravings  on 
Wood.    In  Two  Vols.,  12mo,  Cloth,  $5  00. 

BALDWIN'S  PRE-HISTORIC  NATIONS.  Pre-His- 
toric  Nations  ;  or.  Inquiries  concerning  some  of  the 
Great  Peoples  and  Civilizations  of  Antiquity,  and 
their  Probable  Relation  to  a  still  Older  Civilization 
of  the  Ethiopians  or  Cushites  of  Arabia.  By  Joun 
D.  Baliiwin,  Member  of  the  American  Oriental  So- 
ciety.   12mo,  Cloth,  $1  75. 

WHYMPER'S  ALASKA.  Travel  and  Adventure  in 
the  Territory  of  Alaska,  formerly  Russian  America 
— ncnv  Ceded  to  the  United  States— and  in  various 
other  parts  of  the  North  Paciflc.  By  Frederick 
Whympek.  With  Map  and  Illustrations.  Crown 
Svo,  Cloth,  $2  50. 

DILKE'S  GREATER  BRITAIN.  Greater  Britain:  a 
Record  of  Travel  in  English-speaking  Countries 
during  1866  and  186T.  By  Charles  Wentworth 
DiLKE.  With  Maps  and  Illustrations.  12mo,  Cloth, 
$1 00.  ' 

ALFORD'S  GREEK  TESTAMENT.  The  Greek 
Testament:  with  a  critically-revised  Text;  a  Digest 
of  Various  Readings ;  Marginal  References  to  Verbal 
and  Idiomatic  Usage  ;  Prolegomena ;  and  a  Critical 
and  Exegetical  Commentary.  For  the  Use  of  Theo- 
logical Students  and  Ministers.  By  Henry  Alford, 
DTD.,  Dean  of  Canterbury.  Vol.  I.,  containing  the 
Four  Gospels.  944  pages,  Svo,  Cloth,  $6  00 :  Sheep, 
$6  50.  'v        ,  f, 


LOSSING'S  FIELD-BOOK  OF  THE  WAR  OP  1812. 
Pictorial  Field-Book  of  the  War  of  1812  ;  or.  Illustra- 
tions, by  Pen  and  Pencil,  of  the  History,  Biography, 
Scenery,  Relics,  and  Traditions  of  the  Last  War  for 
American  Independence.  By  Benson  J.  Lossing. 
With  several  hundred  Engravings  on  Wood,  by  Los- 
sing and  Barritt,  chiefly  from  Original  Sketches  by 
the  Author.    lOSS  pages,  Svo,  Cloth,  $7  00.    • 


LOSSING'S  FIELD-BOOK  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 
Pictorial  Field-Book  of  the  Revolution ;  or,  Illustra- 
tions, by  Pen  and  Pencil,  of  the  History,  Biography, 
Scenery,  Relics,  and  Traditions  of  the  War  for  Inde- 
pendence. By  Benson  J.  Lossing.  2  vols.,  Svo, 
Cloth,  $14  00  ;  Sheep,  $15  00 ;  Half  Calf,  $18  00  ;  Full 
Turkey  Morocco,  $22  00. 

WHITE'S  MASSACRE  OF  ST.  BARTHOLOMEW. 
The  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew:  Preceded  by  a 
History  of  the  Religious  Wars  in  the  Reign  of  Charles 
IX.  By  Henry  White,  M.  A.  With  Illustrations.  Svo, 
Cloth,  $1  75. 

SMILES'S  SELF-HELP.  Self-Help;  with  Illustra- 
tions of  Character  and  Conduct.  By  Samdel  Smiles. 
12mo,  Cloth,  $1  25. 

SMILES'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  HUGUENOTS.    The 

Huguenots :  their  Settlements,  Churches,  and  Indus- 
tries in  England  and  Ireland.  By  Samuel  Smiles, 
Author  of  "  Self-Help,"  &c.  With  an  Appendix  re- 
lating to  the  Huguenots  in  America.  Crown  Svo, 
Cloth,  Beveled,  $1  75. 

ABBOTT'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  FRENCH  REVO- 
LUTION. The  French  Revolution  of  17S9,  as  viewed 
in  the  Light  of  Republican  Institutions.  By  John  S. 
C.  AiiiiOTT.   With  100  Engravings.   Svo,  Cloth,  $5  00. 

ABBOTT'S  NAPOLEON  BONAPARTE.  The  His- 
tory of  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  By  John  rs.  C.  An- 
noTT.  With  Maps,  Woodcuts,  and  Portraits  on  Steel. 
2  vols.,  Svo,  Cloth,  $10  00. 

ABBOTT'S  NAPOLEON  AT  ST.  HELENA ;  or,  In- 
teresting Anecdotes  and  Remarkable  Conversations 
of  the  Emperor  during  the  Five  and  a  Half  Years  of 
his  Captivity.  Collected  from  the  Memorials  of  Las 
Casas,  O'Meara,  Montholon,  Antommarchi,  and  oth- 
ers. By  John  S.C.Abbott.  With  Illustrations.  8vo, 
Cloth,  $5  00. 

ADDISON'S  COMPLETE  WORKS.  The  Works  of 
Joseph  Addison,  embracing  the  whole  of  the  "Spec- 
tator."   Complete  in  3  vols.,  Svo,  Cloth,  $0  00. 

ALCOCK'S  JAPAN.  The  Capital  of  the  Tycoon :  a 
Narrative  of  a  Three  Years'  Residence  in  Japan.  By 
Sir  RuTHEEFOKD  Aloook,  K.C.B.,  Her  Majesty's  En- 
voy Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  in 
Japan.  With  Maps  and  Engravings.  2  vols.,  12mo, 
Cloth,  $3  50. 

ALISON'S  HISTORY  OF  EUROPE.  First  Series  : 
From  the  Commencement  of  the  French  Revolution, 
in  1789,  to  the  Restoration  of  the  Bourbons,  in  1815. 
[In  addition  to  the  Notes  on  Chapter  LXXVL,  which 
correct  the  errors  of  the  original  work  concerning 
the  United  States,  a  copious  Analytical  Index  has 
been  appended  to  this  American  edition.]  Second 
Series:  From  the  Fall  of  Napoleon,  in  1S15,  to  the 
Accession  of  Louis  Napoleon,  in  1852.  S  vols.,  Svo, 
Cloth,  $16  00. 


Harper  6^  Brothers'  Valuable  S.'andard  Works. 


DRAPER'S  CIVIL  WAR.  History  of  the  American 
Civil  War.  By  John  W.  Dkapek,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Chemistrv  aud  Pliys^iology  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  New  York.  lu  Three  Vols.  Vol.  11.  just  i)ub- 
lished.    Svo,  Cloth,  $3  50  per  vol. 

DRAPER'S  INTELLECTUAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF 
EUROPE.  A  History  of  the  Intellectual  Develop- 
ment of  Europe.  By  Joun  W.  Deapeii,  M.D.,  LL.D., 
Professor  of  Chemistry  aud  Physiology  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  New  York.    Svo,  Cloth,  $5  00. 

DRAPER'S  AJVIERICAN  CIVIL  POLICY'.  Thoughts 
on  the  Future  Civil  Policy  of  America.  By  John  W. 
Draper,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Chemistry  and 
Physiologv  in  the  University  of  New  Y'ork,  Anther 
of  a  "Treatise  on  Human  Physiology,"  "A  History 
of  the  Intellectual  Development  of  Europe,"  &c. 
Crown  Svo,  Cloth,  $2  50. 

BANCROFT'S  MISCELLANIES.  Literary  and  His- 
torical Miscellanies.  By  Geokgk  Bancroft.  Svo, 
Cloth,  $3  00. 

EARTH'S  NORTH  AND  CENTRAL  AFRICA.- 
Travels  and  Discoveries  in  North  and  Central  Af- 
rica: being  a  Journal  of  an  Expedition  undertaken 
under  the  Auspices  of  H.B.M.'s  Government,  in  the 
Y'ears  1S49-1S55.  By  Heney  Bartu,  Ph.D.,  D.C.L. 
Illustrated.  Complete  in  Three  Vols.,  Svo,  Cloth, 
$12  00. 

BELLOWS'S  OLD  WORLD.  The  Old  World  in  its 
New  Face :  Impressions  of  Europe  in  1S67-186S.  By 
Henev  W.  Bellows.     2  vols.,  12mo,  Cloth,  $3  50. 

BOSWELL'S  JOHNSON.  The  Life  of  Samuel  John- 
son, LL.D.  Including  a  Journey  to  the  Hebrides. 
By  James  Boswell,  Esq.  A  New  Edition,  with  nu- 
merous Additions  and  Notes.  Bv  Joun  Wilson 
Ceoker,  LL.D.,  P.R.S.  Portrait  of  Boswell.  2  vols., 
Svo,  Cloth,  $4  00. 

BROD  HEAD'S  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  His- 
tory of  the  State  of  New  Y'ork.  By  Joun  Romevn 
Broduead.  First  Period,  1609-1664.  Svo,  Cloth, 
$3  00. 

BULWER'S  prose  WORKS.  Miscellaneous  Prose 
Works  of  Edward  Bulwer,  Lord  Lytton.  In  Two 
Vols.     12mo,  Cloth,  $3  50. 

BURNS'S  LIFE  AND  WORKS.  The  Life  and  Works 
of  Robert  Burus.  Edited  by  Robeut  Chambbes.  4 
vols.,  12mo,  Cloth,  $6  00. 

CARLYLE'S  FREDERICK  THE  GREAT.  History 
of  Friedrich  II.,  called  Frederick  the  Great.  By 
Thomas  Caklyle.  Portraits,  Maps,  Plans,  &c.  C 
vols.,  12mo,  Cloth,  $12  00. 

CARLYLE'S  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  History  of 
the  French  Revolution.  Newlv  Revised  by  the  Au- 
thor, with  Index,  &c.    2  vols.,  12nio,  Cloth,  $3  50. 

CARLYLE'S  OLIVER  CROMWELL.  Letters  and 
Speeches  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  With  Elucidations 
aud  Connecting  Narrative.  2  vols.,  12mo,  Cloth, 
$3  50. 

CHALMERS'S  POSTHUMOUS  WORKS.  The  Post- 
humous Works  of  Dr.  Chalmers.  Edited  by  his 
Sou-in-Law,  Rev.  William  Hanna,  LL.D.  Complete 
in  Nine  Vols.,  12ino,  Cloth,  $13  50. 

CLAYTON'S  QUEENS  OF  SONG.  Queens  of  Song: 
being  Memoirs  of  some  of  the  most  celebrated  Fe- 
male Vocalists  who  liave  performed  on  the  Lyric 
Stage  from  the  Earliest  Days  of  Opera  to  the  Present 
Time.  To  which  is  added  a  Chronological  List  of 
all  the  Operas  that  have  been  performed  in  Europe. 
By  Ellen  CREATnoB.NE  Clayton.  W"ith  Portraits. 
Svo,  Cloth,  $3  00. 

COLERIDGE'S  COMPLETE  WORKS.  The  Com- 
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ENGLISHMAN'S   GREEK   CONCORDANCE.    The 

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ican Edition,  Revised  and  Edited  by  Rev.  Henry  B. 
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